Venezuelan court fines news website $500,000 for ‘moral damage’ to politician
Bogotá, Colombia, June 2, 2017–A Venezuelan court’s ruling ordering a news website to pay the equivalent of nearly half a million U.S. dollars in damages for republishing an article about a politician threatens press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Court fines Benin media regulator for wrongfully closing broadcaster
A court in Benin on May 22, 2017, ordered the reopening of Sikka TV, which the High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC by its French acronym), the state’s broadcast regulator, had ordered closed in November 2016, according to media reports. The court also ordered HAAC to pay 50 million West African francs (U.S.$86,000) in…
For Mosul journalists, no work or safety in post-Islamic State Iraq
For nearly three years, Mosul journalist Mohammad Talal al-Nuaimi lived in constant fear of being discovered and killed. The seizure of Mosul by the militant group Islamic State, or IS, in early June 2014 and the subsequent targeting of local journalists had forced him into hiding. He was unable to do any media-related work under…
Morocco deports Algerian journalist
New York, June 1, 2017–Moroccan authorities should lift any restrictions on Algerian journalist Djamel Alilat’s ability to enter Morocco following his May 30 deportation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police arrested Alilat as he left a protest he was covering in northern Morocco two days prior, according to the journalist and other news…
Reporter threatened and has part of ear cut off in Mexico’s Quintana Roo state
Mexico City, June 1, 2017–Authorities in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo must undertake a swift investigation into the attack on journalist Carlos Barrios, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. An unidentified man threatened Barrios, who reports for the news website Aspectos, and cut off part of his ear with a knife, his editor…
Kyrgyz journalist receives death threats
New York, June 1, 2017–Authorities in Kyrgyzstan should ensure the safety of independent journalist Ulugbek Babakulov, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Babakulov, who has been the target of intense criticism from lawmakers and pro-government media since he criticized nationalist social media posts in an article last week, has received death threats on social…
Somaliland journalist held without charge for asking question at press conference
New York, June 1, 2017–Authorities in the semi-autonomous region of Somaliland should immediately release Mohamed Adan Dirir, the editor of the online news portal Horseed Media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Mohamed has been jailed without charge since Somaliland Health Minister Saleban Isee ordered police to arrest him after he asked a question…
CPJ Highlights: May edition
Days after Mexican president pledges to combat impunity, local journalist killed On May 4, a CPJ delegation visited Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto as part of a mission to launch a special report, “No Excuse,” which calls on the government to do more to bring those who murder journalists to justice. During the 90-minute meeting,…
Iraqi journalist killed in suicide bombing
Beirut, June 1, 2017–Suhaib al-Heeti, a reporter for the independent Asia Satellite Channel in Iraq’s western Anbar province, was killed on May 30 in a suicide attack in the northern Anbar city of Heet, according to news reports, his employer, and the Iraq Observatory for Press Freedoms. He was at least the second journalist to…