Libyan TV channel attacked, burned
New York, March 17, 2017–Armed men attacked the Tripoli office of the Libyan TV channel Al-Nabaa and set the building on fire, according to journalists for the station, news reports, and the Libyan Center for Freedom of the Press, an advocacy group. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on authorities in Tripoli to investigate…
UK’s proposed Espionage Act will treat journalists like spies
Journalists in Britain are becoming increasingly alarmed by the government’s apparent determination to prevent them from fulfilling their mission to hold power to account. The latest manifestation of this assault on civil liberties is the so-called Espionage Act. If passed by parliament, it could lead to journalists who obtain leaked information, along with the whistle…
CPJ joins call to renew mandate of Iran human rights rapporteur
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 40 human rights groups calling on the U.N. Human Rights Council to support the resolution to renew the mandate of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A vote on the resolution is scheduled to take place during the…
Journalist arrested in Moscow on Belarusian extradition request
New York, March 15, 2017–Russian authorities should immediately release Yuriy Baranchik, chief analytical editor of the pro-Kremlin Russian news agency Regnum, and allow him to work unobstructed, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Iranian journalists arrested ahead of elections
New York, March 15, 2017–Iranian authorities should immediately release Ehsan Mazandarani, Hengameh Shahidi, and all journalists jailed for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The arrests come ahead of presidential elections scheduled for May.
Deciding who decides which news is fake
Authorities decry the proliferation of misinformation and propaganda on the internet, and technology companies are wrestling with various measures to combat fake news. But addressing the problem without infringing on the right to free expression and the free flow of information is extremely thorny.
The Best Defense: Threats to Journalists’ Safety Demand Fresh Approach – London Launch
Following a new report on journalist safety and the launch of Committee to Protect Journalist’s new Emergencies Response Team, this evening will bring together a variety of perspectives on how the safety landscape for journalists and media workers has changed in recent years.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of March 12
Editor sentenced to nine years in prison The 7th Court for Serious Crimes in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakır yesterday sentenced Aydın Atar, former news editor for the shuttered Kurdish-language daily newspaper Azadiya Welat, to nine years, four months, and 15 days in prison on charges of “propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization,” the news…
Brazilian reporter’s car set on fire
Someone set veteran Brazilian political reporter Rodrigo Lima’s car on fire outside his office at the daily newspaper Diario da Região on March 3, 2017, according to the journalist, witnesses, and video of the incident. The reporter, who has worked at the newspaper for 17 years, told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he believed…