Dozens of journalists obstructed from covering Belarus protests
New York, March 23, 2017 – Belarusian authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalists prosecuted for covering a wave of nationwide protests and should cease interfering with journalists doing their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security forces have detained or otherwise obstructed at least 32 journalists in an effort to censor…
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.
Mexican journalist shot dead in Guerrero state
New York, March 3, 2017–Mexican authorities must conduct a credible and rigorous investigation into the killing of Cecilio Pineda Brito, a journalist who contributed to several outlets and published crime stories on social media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The 38-year-old reporter was shot dead yesterday in the municipality of Ciudad Altamirano, in…
Die Welt Turkey correspondent jailed pending trial
New York, February 28, 2017–Turkish prosecutors should immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against Deniz Yücel, Turkey correspondent for the German newspaper Die Welt, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Istanbul’s Ninth Court of Penal Peace last night ordered the journalist, a dual citizen of Turkey and Germany detained since February 14, jailed pending…
CPJ Highlights: February edition
Press freedom in the US–and what CPJ’s doing about it CPJ continues to advocate for journalists and press freedom in the United States. In a February 25 op-ed published in The New York Times titled “Trump is damaging press freedom in the U.S. and abroad,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon argued that the U.S. administration’s…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of February 26
Shots fired at newspaper office, no one injured An unknown assailant in a moving taxi fired two shots from a handgun at the building housing the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet in Istanbul this morning, Cumhuriyet reported. A police investigation is in progress, the report said.
The Best Defense
Threats to journalists’ safety demand fresh approach Reporting on wars and natural disasters is inherently dangerous, but the spread of insurgent and criminal groups globally poses an unprecedented risk to journalists. Since the videotaped killings of James Foley and Steven Sotloff in 2014, public awareness of the risks has increased exponentially, but the dangers persist.
Surveillance of journalists and court orders puts Canada’s press freedom at risk
On February 6, VICE News reporter Ben Makuch is due to appear in court to appeal an order requesting that he hand over details of his communication with a source. The hearing comes ahead of a day of action being planned in Canada for February 25, when press freedom and privacy activists are due to…
CPJ Highlights: January edition
Meryl Streep’s nod to CPJ leads to record-breaking number of donations Earlier this month, Meryl Streep ascended the stage at the Golden Globes ceremony to accept the Cecil B. DeMille Award and gave a resounding speech about the importance of a free press in the United States.