Vietnamese journalist Le Manh Ha harshly sentenced to 8 years in prison
Bangkok, October 26, 2022 – Vietnamese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Le Manh Ha and stop treating independent journalists as criminals for merely doing their jobs of reporting the news, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Tuesday, October 25, the People’s Court of Tuyen Quang province sentenced Ha after a two-day…
Belarus court sentences journalist Siarhei Satsuk to 8 years in prison
Paris, October 26, 2022 – Belarusian authorities must immediately release Siarhei Satsuk, who was sentenced to eight years in prison, along with all other journalists currently behind bars, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Wednesday, October 26, a court in Minsk, the capital, found Satsuk, chief editor of the independent Yezhednevnik news website,…
Jailed Tajik journalist Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda describes severe physical abuse, forced confession in letter
Stockholm, October 25, 2022 – Tajikistan authorities must provide a complete and convincing response to allegations that jailed journalist Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda has been subjected to severe physical abuse and mistreatment, and that he and other jailed journalists were forced to record false confessions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Friday, October 21, the…
Four staff members of Nicaragua’s La Prensa charged with conspiracy, two in detention
Guatemala City, October 14, 2022 — Nicaraguan authorities should immediately drop all criminal charges against staff members of the independent newspaper La Prensa, release two drivers held in custody, and cease harassing the outlet, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On September 29, the Nicaraguan prosecutor’s office charged four La Prensa staff members with “conspiracy…
Zimbabwean journalists assaulted, harassed, and blocked from covering events
Lusaka, October 13, 2022—Zimbabwean authorities and ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) should investigate the assaults and harassment of journalists covering events of public interest in the past week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “The increasing cases of violence against journalists in Zimbabwe is becoming a serious source of concern and must…
For Mexican journalists, President López Obrador’s pledge to curb spyware rings hollow
“Practically nothing.” RíoDoce magazine editor Andrés Villarreal spoke with a sigh and a hint of resignation as he described what came of Mexico’s investigation into the attempted hacking of his cell phone. “The federal authorities never contacted me personally. They told us informally that it wasn’t them, but that’s it.” Over five years have passed…
Belarusian journalists detained, forced to make ‘confession’ videos
Paris, October 12, 2022—Belarusian authorities are continuing their crackdown on the country’s independent media with a spate of fresh arrests and detentions of several journalists. On Thursday, October 6, police in Minsk, the capital, detained Snezhana Inanets, a reporter at the independent news website Onliner, and her husband Aliaksandr Lychavko, a local historian and reporter…
Two journalists arrested over criminal complaints in Iraqi Kurdistan
Beirut, October 12, 2022 – Iraqi Kurdistan authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalists Sartip Qashqayi and Ibrahim Ali and refrain from detaining and arresting journalists because of their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Sunday, October 9, officers from the Kurdistan Special Counter-Terrorism group arrested Qashqayi, the editor-in-chief of the privately…
DRC journalist Gauthier Sey Tshiang sentenced to one year in prison, fined over reports on public official
Kinshasa, October 7, 2022 — Authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo should not oppose journalist Gauthier Sey Tshiang’s appeal of his sentencing to one year in prison and a financial penalty over reporting about a public official, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On September 19, the Kinshasa Gombe Peace Court sentenced…
Congolese authorities order Lomela city radio stations off the air over security concerns
Kinshasa, October 5, 2022—Authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Sankuru province should reverse their decision to shut down radio stations in Lomela city and ensure media there can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On September 17, Jules Lodi Emongo, governor of Sankuru province, ordered privately owned radio stations based in the…