Two Congolese journalists detained for 5 months after covering a protest
Kinshasa, May 17, 2022 – Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo must ensure the immediate release of journalists Patrick Lola and Christian Bofaya, who have been arbitrarily detained without charge for five months in the central prison of Mbandaka, the provincial capital of Equateur, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On January…
Journalist Iryna Danylovych charged, detained by Russian authorities in Crimea
Paris, May 16, 2022 — Russian authorities in Ukraine’s Crimea must drop all charges against journalist Iryna Danylovych, release her immediately, and cease prosecuting journalists for their reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On May 11, Danylovych, a Crimea-based journalist who went missing on April 29, was found by her lawyer in a…
Kashmir media at a ‘breaking point’ amid rising number of journalist detentions
Sajad Gul’s mother had prepared his favorite dishes as she anxiously awaited his return home. The Kashmiri journalist, who had been granted bail the day before, on January 15, 2022, was to be released following his arrest earlier that month in a criminal conspiracy case, according to a journalist friend who spoke on condition of…
DRC authorities detain 3 journalists for over a week in insult case
Dakar, May 10, 2022 — Congolese authorities should immediately drop all criminal proceedings against journalists Albert Muhila, Dieu Agba, and Patrick Gbondo, and reform the country’s laws to ensure journalists are not jailed in connection with their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On April 22, officers with the Congolese National Police Mobile…
CPJ condemns additional trial delay for the alleged killers of Brazilian journalist Valério Luiz de Oliveira
Rio de Janeiro, May 2, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday expressed disappointment in response to news reports that a court in Brazil again postponed the jury trial of five men charged with the 2012 murder of well-known Brazilian sports journalist Valério Luiz de Oliveira. The trial was delayed after the lawyers…
#NotATarget: Ahead of World Press Freedom Day, CPJ renews call for protection of journalists in Ukraine
On Wednesday, CPJ welcomed the European Commission’s “decisive” move to pass an initiative addressing the abuse of SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation). CPJ has long advocated for the EU to address SLAPPs, which are abusive lawsuits filed by powerful officials, businesspeople, or corporations against individuals, including critical journalists or news outlets, to restrict or…
Iraqi Asayish forces obstruct 2 media crews covering Erbil protest
On April 26, 2022, forces with the Asayish intelligence agency harassed and obstructed two news crews covering a protest at a U.N. office in the northern Iraqi-Kurdish city of Erbil, according to news reports and journalists who spoke with CPJ. Protesters gathered at the U.N. building to demonstrate against Turkish military operations in the region,…
‘A never-ending nightmare’: A son’s decade-long fight for justice for murdered Brazilian sports journalist Valério Luiz de Oliveira
On July 5, 2012, Valério Luiz de Oliveira Filho was at home waiting for his father to arrive for lunch when he received a phone call from his stepmother. “Go to the broadcaster,” she told him through tears, he said. “Your father has been shot.” His father, Valério Luiz de Oliveira, a well-known sports journalist…
Russia charges journalists with disseminating ‘fakes’ about the military; reporter Maria Ponomarenko detained
Paris, April 27, 2022 — Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalists Maria Ponomarenko and Ilya Krasilshchik, release Ponomarenko from custody, and stop persecuting members of the press for allegedly spreading so-called “fakes” about Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On March 4, President Vladimir Putin enacted amendments…
‘When you stop writing, they win’: Exiled after attacks, Lebanese journalist Mariam Seif Eddine is still reporting
When a teenager’s burned body was discovered in Mariam Seif Eddine’s neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburb in September 2020, the journalist knew she had to report the story, even if it meant crossing Hezbollah. The Shia political party and militant group likes to keep tight control on information coming out of its strongholds, she told CPJ. “Hezbollah…