Palestinian journalist assaulted while covering pro-Gaza protests in Haifa
An Israeli police officer assaulted Palestinian reporter Nahed Dirbas, a journalist for the London-based news website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, while she was covering a protest against Israeli actions in Gaza in the Israeli city of Haifa on May 18, 2018, according to news reports, her employer, and the regional press freedom group SKeyes Center for Media…
The many questions about Arkady Babchenko’s staged murder in Ukraine
Minutes after news broke that prominent Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko had been murdered in Ukraine, social media exploded with messages mourning the loss of a bright, sometimes-too-outspoken journalist. Friends and colleagues wrote moving obituaries, and groups including CPJ condemned the killing. Impromptu memorials in both Kiev and Moscow sprouted, as they all too often do,…
Mexican journalist found dead in Tamaulipas state
Mexico City, May 30, 2018–Authorities in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas must undertake a swift and credible investigation into the death of Héctor González Antonio, a correspondent for the national newspaper Excelsior and the television broadcaster Imagen, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Kenyan authorities arrest blogger after posts on alleged official corruption
Kenyan blogger Cyprian Nyakundi was arrested on May 14, 2018, on allegations of publishing “alarming” content about senior civil servants, according to court documents seen by the Committee to Protect Journalists. He was released on May 17 following the intervention of the director of public prosecutions, the blogger and one of his lawyers, Smith Otieno,…
Civilians attack, set fire to pro-government radio station in Nicaragua
Bogotá, May 30, 2018–Nicaraguan authorities should investigate an attack on a pro-government radio station in Managua, the capital, hold the perpetrators to account, and ensure that journalists covering ongoing unrest in the country can work safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
UPDATE: Russian journalist Babchenko’s assassination was staged
New York, May 30, 2018– Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, who had been reported shot and killed in the Ukrainian capital yesterday, has appeared alive at a televised news conference in Kiev. Vasily Gritsak, head of the Ukrainian Security Service, said the agency faked Babchenko’s death to catch those who were trying to kill him. “We…
CPJ welcomes FIFA’s complaints mechanism for journalists covering World Cup
New York, May 29, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the launch of a complaints mechanism for media representatives and human rights defenders ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, which will enable journalists covering the World Cup and other official events to report press freedom violations directly to FIFA. In a press…
By suing WikiLeaks, DNC could endanger principles of press freedom
In 1993, WILK radio host Frederick Vopper broadcast a conversation intercepted by an illegal wiretap and sent anonymously to the Pennsylvania radio station, in which two teachers union officials discussed violent negotiating tactics. The officials sued Vopper, arguing that he should be liable for the illegal wiretap that captured their comments. But the Supreme Court…
Radio host in northeastern Brazil subject to series of threats
Brazilian community radio presenter José Ilton dos Santos told the Committee to Protect Journalists that to date in 2018 he has faced a failed kidnapping attempt in which the assailant threatened to kill him as well as two other threats, the most recent coming on April 13, 2018. Dos Santos described the incidents to CPJ…