Turkish courts pursue trials, asset seizures in multiple cases against journalists
October 22, 2020, Istanbul – Turkey must stop harassing journalists and prosecuting them on trumped up charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, a court Istanbul rejected an appeal by exiled journalist Can Dündar, thereby allowing authorities to seize his assets in Turkey, the news website Duvar English reported. Today, another Istanbul court…
Venezuelan intelligence services raid Correo del Caroní newspaper, detain employees
Miami, October 22, 2020 — Venezuelan authorities must stop harassing and threatening the Correo del Caroní newspaper, its owner, and its employees, and allow them to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 20, at about 9 a.m., agents from the Bolivarian Intelligence Service raided the headquarters of Correo del Caroní,…
CPJ joins call for release of 4 Iwacu journalists one year after arrest in Burundi
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 64 other press freedom and human rights organizations today in a statement calling for the immediate and unconditional release of four journalists with the independent Burundian outlet Iwacu, who were arrested one year ago. The statement called the journalists’ detention a “stark reminder” of Burundi’s “little tolerance for independent…
Q&A: Financial Times reporters Dan McCrum and Stefania Palma on Wirecard and pressures on business journalists
Dan McCrum and Stefania Palma, business reporters for the Financial Times, spent years investigating German payments company Wirecard and revealed in a series of articles that the darling of the stock markets and the German tech scene faked its accounts. When it filed for insolvency in June 2020, Wirecard owed creditors billions of dollars, and…
Indian authorities seal Kashmir Times office in Srinagar
New Delhi, October 21, 2020–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the ongoing harassment of the Kashmir Times and its editor, Anuradha Bhasin, by the Jammu and Kashmir administration and called on authorities to immediately reopen and allow staff to work from its Srinagar office. On October 19, officials from the Estates Department of the…
Argentine court charges journalist Daniel Santoro with illicit association, espionage
New York, October 21, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Argentine authorities to drop criminal charges against journalist Daniel Santoro and ensure criminal investigations do not threaten journalists’ ability to work. In a decision released this morning, Judge Alejo Ramos Padilla of the Federal Court of Dolores, in Buenos Aires province,…
CPJ calls for journalists’ safety to be protected amid Nigeria protests
New York, October 21, 2020–Nigerian authorities should ensure that journalists are able to do their jobs freely and safely while covering protests against police brutality in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In recent days, local media have reported violence against protesters and journalists during the demonstrations in Nigeria, which began as…
Hungarian court gags investigative report, citing EU data protection law
Berlin, October 21, 2020—A gag order issued by a Hungarian court has cited European Union data privacy rules to prevent the weekly Magyar Narancs newspaper from publishing an article on Budapest-based soft drinks company Hell Energy and its owners, according to the article’s author, Ákos Keller-Alánt, and local news reports. The court in Budapest issued…
Swedish authorities charge documentary filmmakers Henrik Evertsson and Linus Andersson for MS Estonia film
Berlin, October 19, 2020 — Swedish authorities should immediately drop criminal charges against Swedish documentary filmmakers Henrik Evertsson and Linus Andersson, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 30 prosecutors in Sweden charged Evertsson, a journalist, and Andersson, a cameraman, with violating the burial site of MS Estonia, a ferry ship which sunk…
Ahead of elections, Tanzania’s regulator is used as a cudgel against the media
On August 27, the second day of mainland Tanzania’s official campaign period leading up to October 28 elections, authorities ordered privately owned broadcasters Clouds TV and Clouds FM to replace their regular programming with an hours-long apology until midnight and then halt programming altogether for a week. The over-the-top display of repentance was dictated by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), on the…