Bahraini journalists harassed, banned from travel
New York, May 1, 2017–Bahraini prosecutors and security officials should cease harassing journalists and should lift travel bans imposed on two reporters in the past week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Prosecutors summoned three journalists for questioning in the week before the U.N. Human Rights Commission conducted its Universal Periodic Review of the…
Families of jailed journalists in Egypt await outcome of latest trials
Every two weeks Mohamed al-Fakharany prepares to visit his brother, Abdullah al-Fakharany, in prison. He packs food, clothes, books, and, most importantly, written responses to his older brother’s letters. Mohamed al-Fakharany, who told CPJ that he has never missed a visit, was only 11 when his brother– the executive director of opposition news outlet Rassd–was…
Azerbaijan government seeks order to permanently block news websites
New York, April 28, 2017–The Azerbaijani government should immediately stop trying to permanently block access to five independent media outlets’ websites and should instead lift a decree that has rendered them currently inaccessible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A district court in the capital Baku yesterday began hearing a government lawsuit that seeks…
At least two journalists injured as protesters storm Macedonian parliament
Brussels, April 28, 2017–Macedonian police and prosecutors should swiftly bring to justice those responsible for injuring at least two journalists and assaulting at least four others in last night’s storming of the parliament building, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Nationalist demonstrators, many of them wearing masks and hoods, last night stormed the building…
CPJ Highlights: April edition
CPJ releases Attacks on the Press CPJ launched the 2017 edition of our annual publication Attacks on the Press at two events on April 25. The book, “The New Face of Censorship,” explores the evolution of censorship tactics into sophisticated tools used to control the flow of information around the world. Nearly 500 U.S. and…
Issa Saharkhiz
Saharkhiz, a prominent Iranian journalist, was arrested on November 2, 2015, for “insulting the Supreme Leader,” and “propaganda against the regime,” his son Mehdi told CPJ. The next day, local media outlets with close ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps reported that five local journalists had been arrested for being part of an “infiltration network”…
Join CPJ for a panel at the Brussels Press Club on emerging threats to journalists
Rising populism in the U.S. and Europe, amid concerns over terrorism and migration, pose risks to press freedom in the West and beyond. Join the Committee to Protect Journalists for a look at the challenges journalists face in the changing environment for media in the U.S. and Europe, and the potential ramifications for journalists operating…
Iran frees Issa Saharkhiz then sentences him to one year in jail
New York, April 28, 2017–Iranian authorities should immediately drop all charges against freelance journalist Issa Saharkhiz, who was sentenced yesterday to one year in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The sentence was handed down the day after Saharkhiz was released from jail on a separate charge, according to the journalist’s son and…