Nigerian court acquits journalists arrested amid #RevolutionNow protests
Abuja, August 25, 2020 — A magistrate court in Nigeria’s southern Cross River State today acquitted Cross River Watch news editor Jonathan Ugbal and managing editor Jeremiah Archibong on charges of unlawful assembly and breach of peace stemming from their 2019 protest coverage, according to news reports and Ugbal, who spoke to CPJ via messaging…
Russian journalists imprisoned, beaten during arrests and detention
New York, August 25, 2020 – Russian authorities must immediately release journalists Aleksandr Dorogov and Yan Katelevskiy, drop all charges against them, and ensure that members of the press can work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In the early hours of July 29, police in the village of Mosrentgen, near…
Turkish journalist Erkan Akkuş arrested after 4 years in hiding
Istanbul, August 25, 2020 – Turkish authorities should release journalist Erkan Akkuş immediately and cease jailing members of the press for their work and political commentary, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 22, police in the western province of Kocaeli detained Akkuş, former news editor and anchor for the now-shuttered Bugün TV…
Arsonists torch office of independent newspaper Canal de Moçambique in Mozambique
New York, August 24, 2020 — Authorities in Mozambique should conduct a quick and thorough investigation into the arson attack on Canal de Moçambique, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 8 p.m. yesterday, in the capital, Maputo, unidentified individuals broke into the office used by the independent weekly investigative newspaper and its…
Iranian journalist Kayvan Samimi begins 3-year jail term over protest coverage
Washington, D.C., August 24, 2020 — Iranian authorities should release journalist Kayvan Samimi from prison immediately and cease arbitrarily jailing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Samimi, 72, editor-in-chief of the center-left Iran-e-Farda magazine, began a three-year sentence today in Tehran’s Evin Prison, after his prior conviction on charges of “colluding against…
Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government files suit against broadcaster NRT for protest coverage
New York, August 24, 2020 — The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government yesterday announced a lawsuit against local broadcaster NRT in response to its coverage of recent protests in the region, according to a statement sent to CPJ via email today by Dindar Zebari, the regional government’s coordinator for international advocacy. “The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s…
CPJ welcomes sentence in Miroslava Breach murder case, urges further investigation
Mexico City, August 24, 2020 – A federal court in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua sentenced Juan Carlos Moreno to 50 years in prison on August 21 for his participation in the murder of journalist Miroslava Breach Velducea on March 23, 2017, according to a statement by Propuesta Cívica, a legal nonprofit organization that…
Outlawing TikTok may not impede journalists, but U.S. and India bans could set a risky precedent
“Allison, can Trump ban TikTok?” Dave Jorgenson, The Washington Post’s self-described “TikTok Guy” asks in an August 3 video on the app. His colleague Allison Michaels responds: “The answer is yes, but how he can do it is kind of complicated…” It would be a typical exchange between journalists, but for the surreal setup: Jorgenson is standing over a birdbath, asking…
‘We’re scared shitless out here’: Four reporters on covering the federal response to Portland protests
“This was civic combat, but without live fire.” That’s how freelance photographer John Rudoff described the situation in Portland, Oregon, the Pacific Northwest city where demonstrations in support of Black Lives Matter and against police brutality are now in their 13th week. Portland’s protests received global attention when they took a violent turn in July as…
Hospitalized Belarusian journalist Alena Scharbinskaya tells of beatings inside Minsk detention center
Alena Scharbinskaya, a correspondent with the independent satellite broadcaster Belsat TV, was among dozens of journalists detained last week in Belarus when protests erupted after the re-election of President Aleksandr Lukashenko, whose victory has been contested by many voters and the opposition. She was kept for three days in the now-infamous detention center known among locals…