CPJ, 28 others urge UN to prioritize human rights in Bahrain
On September 23, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined 28 human rights organizations during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in urging all member states to address human rights concerns in Bahrain, including the ongoing arbitrary detention of journalists, human rights defenders, scholars, bloggers, and opposition leaders. The letter included the case…
Shrouq Al Aila, Gaza Strip
CPJ is honored to present its 2024 International Press Freedom Award to Palestinian journalist Shrouq Al Aila. Shrouq Al Aila is a Palestinian journalist, producer, and researcher reporting from the Gaza Strip. Al Aila took charge of Ain Media, an independent production company specializing in professional media services, after her husband Roshdi Sarraj – a co-founder…
Egypt violates own law by adding 2 years to Alaa Abdelfattah’s prison term
Washington, D.C., September 24, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to release Alaa Abdelfattah, a prominent Egyptian-British blogger and writer, upon completion of his five-year prison sentence this Sunday, September 29. Abdelfattah was arrested on September 28, 2019, and in December 2021, he was sentenced to five years in prison, starting from…
CPJ announces $1M initiative to protect climate journalists
Nearly one-third of the funds have been raised New York, September 23, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today announced the Climate Crisis Journalist Protection Initiative, which will ensure that journalists reporting on climate issues are able to do so freely and safely. The initiative will provide climate journalists with assistance, safety training,…
Russia fines 11 journalists, restricts 2 outlets with anti-state laws
Russian authorities have deployed laws penalizing “foreign agents,” “undesirable” organizations, and those who “discredit” the army to issue fines against 11 journalists, at least five of whom live in exile, and to retaliate against two media outlets in the last two months. The latest figures show that Russia’s crackdown has continued apace since CPJ’s previous…
CPJ to honor formidable journalists with 2024 International Press Freedom Awards
Esteemed awardees from four regions to be recognized in November New York, September 19, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today announced that it will honor four exceptional journalists with its 2024 International Press Freedom Awards. This year’s awardees, who cover Gaza, Guatemala, Niger, and Russia, have withstood extraordinary challenges to continue reporting…
Belarusian journalist Andrei Tolchyn released following presidential pardon
New York, September 18, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the September 17 release of Belarusian journalist Andrei Tolchyn, who received a presidential pardon after serving almost a year of a two-and-a-half year prison sentence. “While we welcome the release of journalist Andrei Tolchyn, he should not have spent a single day in prison,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe…
In post-election Venezuela, journalist jailings reach record high, media goes underground
Shortly after Venezuela’s disputed presidential election in July, security agents arrested journalist Ana Carolina Guaita and then contacted her family to make a deal. They offered to release Guaita if her mother, Xiomara Barreto, who worked on the opposition campaign to defeat President Nicolás Maduro, turned herself in. Barreto, who is in hiding, rejected the…
Crimean journalist faces continued harassment in jail, rights group, attorney say
Berlin, September 13, 2024—Ahead of Crimean journalist Remzi Bekirov’s next expected hearing on October 2, CPJ expressed concern at reports that Russian prison authorities are harassing him with strict scrutiny and placements in solitary confinement. Bekirov, who is an ethnic Crimean Tatar from Ukraine’s Russian-occupied region of Crimea, was a correspondent for independent Russian news…
CPJ, partners call for swift trial after ex-governor surrenders in Philippine journalist’s murder
On Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — who together form the ‘A Safer World for the Truth’ initiative — called for a swift and impartial trial after fugitive ex-governor Joel T. Reyes surrendered to authorities in connection with the 2011 murder of Philippine broadcast…