New details raise questions about whether Sri Lankan president was complicit in the killing of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge
Nishantha Silva is obsessed with details. The missing notebook. The unusual telephone number. The motorcycle tossed into a lake and the person who knew exactly where to find it. Those details and others are the pointillist dots of color that Silva, formerly a detective with Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department, has assembled into a vivid…
Congolese journalist Chilassy Bofumbo denied provisional release, back in court tomorrow
Kinshasa, June 27, 2022 – Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should unconditionally release journalist Chilassy Bofumbo and all other members of the press jailed for their work, and ensure that the media in the country can work without fear of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Thursday, June 23,…
Bangladesh journalist arrested, 2 charged under Digital Security Act
On June 7, 2022, police in the Bangladesh town of Rangamati, in the southeastern Chittagong division, arrested Fazle Alahi, editor of the privately owned newspaper Dainik Parbatto and the privately owned news website Pahar24, under the Digital Security Act, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ by phone. A Rangamati magistrate…
24 US senators call on Biden to ensure full investigation into shooting death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
On Thursday, 24 U.S. senators sent a letter to President Biden calling on his administration to protect press freedom and ensure direct U.S. involvement in the investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. “We believe that, as a leader in the effort to protect the freedom of the press and the safety…
Taliban members beat journalist at Kabul checkpoint, detain 2 others
Washington, D.C., June 22, 2022 – Taliban authorities must investigate the beating of journalist Mohammad Ikram Esmati and immediately and unconditionally release journalist Abdul Hannan Mohammadi and broadcasting manager Khan Mohammad Sial, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. “The Taliban must take immediate measures to halt repeated arbitrary detentions and abuse of journalists in…
Commonwealth Secretariat denies entry to at least 2 journalists seeking to cover summit in Rwanda; others left in limbo
Durban, June 17, 2022 — The Commonwealth Secretariat should ensure that all journalists can freely cover the upcoming summit in Rwanda, and should not allow the press accreditation process to be used as a political tool, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which brings together the leaders of…
M23 rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo loot radio station; reporter Austère Mavilika receives threats
Kinshasa, June 16, 2022 — The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern on Thursday that journalists in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have faced undue safety threats while on the front lines of the conflict between government forces and the M23 armed rebel group. On the morning of June 13, M23 rebels took control of…
Belarusian journalists Yauhen Yerchak and Dzmitry Suslau sentenced to 15 days each in detention
Paris, June 15, 2022 — Belarus authorities should immediately release journalists Yauhen Yerchak and Dzmitry Suslau, drop all charges against them, and allow the press to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On June 3, police in the eastern city of Babruysk detained Suslau, a reporter for the local weekly Kommercheskiy Kurier,…
Two Ghanaian journalists attacked at Benya FM, one left unconscious
On May 16, 2022, at around 7:30 p.m., three men forced their way into privately owned Ghanaianbroadcaster Benya FM in the town of Elminaon the southern Takoradi highway, attacked two of the station’s staff — program host Eric Blessing Eshun and producer Emmanuel Egyirfah— and destroyed equipment, according a report by the privately owned news…
#FindDomAndBruno: Brazil should scale up their search for freelance journalist
CPJ is alarmed by reports of an insufficient response by Brazilian authorities to the disappearance of freelance British reporter Dom Phillips and Indigenous issues expert Bruno Pereira, who went missing during a reporting trip in the Indigenous territory of the Amazon’s Javari Valley. “It is imperative that officials immediately scale up their search and investigation…