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New York, April 17, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Afghan government to deliver justice through a fair and transparent process after two suspects were sentenced to death for the killing of Kabul News journalist Abdul Manan Arghand.

14 trials in one week for Özgür Gündem publisher Over the course of one week, Turkish courts agreed to proceed with 14 cases involving Ziya Çiçekçi, a former publisher of the shuttered pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem, the Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) reported. All but one of the cases involve accusations of “making propaganda for a…

Eight sentenced over Özgür Gündem campaign An Istanbul court on April 3 sentenced seven guest editors who took part in a solidarity campaign with the now shuttered daily, Özgür Gündem, the television and news website Medyascope reported.

Court dismisses trial of Paradise Papers reporter Pelin Ünker The trial of Pelin Ünker, a former reporter for the opposition daily Cumhuriyet, who faced charges related to her coverage of the Paradise Papers, was closed on March 28 after the judge ruled that the statute of limitations had expired, Medyascope reported. Ünker was accused of…

Memorializing the fallen by showcasing their final works CPJ launched a multimedia initiative in March to memorialize journalists around the world who lost their lives to bring us the news. “The Last Column” presents 24 moving, hard-hitting, and sometimes chilling final works of fallen journalists, including Marie Colvin of The Sunday Times of London and…

India is scheduled to hold national and provincial elections from April 11 to May 19, 2019. As the country celebrates over 70 years of democracy, journalists are under pressure from attacks, harassment, cyber bullying, and government restrictions. At least five journalists were killed in relation to their work in India in 2018, including four who…

Evrensel journalist acquitted over Paradise Papers charge An Istanbul court on March 19 acquitted Çağrı Sarı, the former responsible news editor for the leftist daily Evrensel, of insult and libel, her employer reported. The case focused on Evrensel’s coverage of the Paradise Papers in April, which alleged that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak,…

Court convicts Gün Printing House owner and staff An Istanbul court on March 11 convicted seven employees of the Gün Printing House, including the owner, Kasım Zengin, of anti-state charges and sentenced them to prison, the pro-Kurdish Mezopatamya News Agency reported. The court acquitted 15 other employees who were also on trial.

Journalist and former CHP politician sentenced An Istanbul court on March 1 convicted Eren Erdem, the former chief editor for the defunct daily Karşı and a former parliamentary deputy in the main opposition party CHP, of “knowingly and willingly helping a [terrorist] organization without being involved in the organization’s hierarchical structure,” and sentenced him to…

Venezuela’s press freedom crisis heats up CPJ’s Central and South America program and Emergencies Response Team have been in overdrive amid an intensifying press crackdown in Venezuela, which reached a new level when the Maduro government briefly detained Univision reporter and anchor Jorge Ramos and his crew on February 26.