Vietnamese journalist Dang Xuan Dieu released from prison
Bangkok, January 13, 2016 – The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from prison of Vietnamese journalist Dang Xuan Dieu and calls on Vietnamese authorities to free unconditionally all journalists held behind bars. Dieu was released late last night after more than five years in prison and flew immediately to France, according to news…
Mexican police attack journalists covering protests
Mexico City, January 12, 2017–Mexican police should quickly and credibly investigate reports that police threatened and attacked journalists covering protests last week and should swiftly bring to justice officers found to have assaulted reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Hong Kong journalists try range of models to battle press freedom challenges
A new Chinese-language website pledging to provide Hong Kong with “independent, accurate and fair” news is the latest journalism venture to open in the city, in an attempt to counter increasing Chinese control of the media. Citizen News was launched January 1 by a group of journalists, including Kevin Lau Chun-to and Daisy Li Yuet-wah,…
CPJ urges Sessions to commit to journalist protection if confirmed as attorney general
New York, January 11, 2016–In remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for attorney general yesterday, U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions said he was unsure whether he would commit to following guidelines adopted by Attorney General Eric Holder in 2015 that make it harder, though not impossible, for the Department of Justice to subpoena journalists’…
Cameroon suspends radio station, seals office
Lagos, Nigeria, January 11, 2017–Cameroonian authorities should immediately reverse a decision to suspend independent broadcaster Radio Hot Cocoa 94 FM’s permission to operate and allow the station to resume broadcasting immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Government officials in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s Northwest Region, yesterday sealed the station’s office, its manager…
UK’s Section 40 press law would curb independent, investigative journalism
British journalists say the future of independent and investigative journalism in the U.K. is at stake, as a deadline for public consultation on press regulation ends tomorrow. If it is implemented, Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 would leave news outlets not signed up to an official press regulator liable for the…
Speaker of Chechen parliament threatens journalist Grigory Shvedov
New York, January 9, 2017–Russian federal authorities should ensure the safety of Grigory Shvedov, the editor of the independent news website Kavkazsky Uzel (Caucasian Knot), and should hold accountable Magomed Daudov, the speaker of Chechnya’s parliament, for publicly threatening the journalist, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of January 8
Erdoğan praises Trump for ‘beating down’ CNN reporter Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan praised U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for “beating down” (“benzetmek”) CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Costa in a January 11 press conference, according to media reports and video widely distributed on the internet. Trump refused to take a question from CNN at…
CPJ Safety Advisory: The Mosul offensive and psychological injury
The military campaign to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group, known as the Mosul offensive, has resumed with Iraqi forces engaged in a second phase attempting to take further neighborhoods in eastern parts of the city. A number of journalists, freelancers and staffers, remain in Northern Iraq and travel…
Gunmen shoot at home of Mexican reporter
Unidentified assailants attacked the home of Mexican journalist Gabriel Valencia Juárez at about 10:15 p.m. on December 31, 2016, according to media reports. Valencia, who was inside at the time of the attack, was only a meter from where one of the 9mm caliber bullets struck a piece of furniture, the reports said.