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After almost 14 years of civil war, the lightning overthrow of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in December has unleashed the possibility of returning home for hundreds of exiled journalists. For Ahmad Primo, who was arrested by the government for reporting that the 2011 protests were a revolution and then jailed by Islamic State, the idea…

Washington, D.C., July 3, 2025— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the June 18 arrest of journalist Muzahim Bajaber in central Yemen’s Hadramout Governorate on unspecified charges.  The warrant, reviewed by CPJ, was issued by a Specialized Criminal Court and violates Article 13 of Yemen’s Press and Publications Law, which protects journalists from punishment for publishing their opinions unless they…

New York July 2, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Zimbabwean authorities to release newspaper editor Faith Zaba, who was arrested on July 1. She is facing charges of “undermining or insulting the authority of the president” in connection with a satirical column. “This case sends the message that Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and…

The Coalition in Defense of Journalism (CDJor), which the Committee to Protect Journalists is a member, strongly condemns the 2019-2022 Bolsonaro administration’s use of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency to surveil journalists, media outlets, and civil society organizations. Details on the depth of administration’s surveillance of journalists came to light after Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court unsealed…

Istanbul, July 1, 2025—Turkish authorities must release from custody four staff members of the leftist satirical weekly LeMan and ensure their safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.  Police raided the Istanbul offices of LeMan Monday evening and detained the staff members after the publication of what officials claimed was a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, a depiction that is forbidden in…

Atlanta, Georgia, July 1, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Tuesday’s order to release journalist Mario Guevara, who was arrested while livestreaming a protest in an Atlanta suburb on June 14, from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, on bond. Despite the court order for Guevara’s release, CPJ is concerned by the government lawyer’s argument…

Geneva, June 27, 2025—A handwritten letter by journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been detained in the Philippines for more than five years without a conviction, was read out at the United Nations headquarters by U.N. special envoy Irene Khan, who called the 26-year-old’s prolonged detention “a travesty of justice.” It was the first time…

Manila, June 20, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists and partner organizations have completed a joint mission to the Philippines, a first-of-its-kind effort supported by the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), a grouping of 51 member states committed to defending press freedom worldwide. During the June 16-20 mission, CPJ, Reporters Without Borders, and Free Press Unlimited took…

Manila, June 20, 2025—A Filipino court has acquitted Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, along with five Rappler directors, in a long-standing anti-dummy case. Filed in 2018 under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, the case was based on the allegation that Rappler had violated constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership of…

Washington, D.C., June 16, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by reports that Australian writer Alistair Kitchen was denied entry into the United States after border officials at the Los Angeles International Airport searched his phone and questioned him about his views on the Israel-Gaza war. “Alistair Kitchen’s deportation is a clear case of retaliation…