CPJ Insider: April edition
CPJ turns 40! On April 3, 1981, three journalists in New York—Michael Massing, Victor Navasky, and Laurie Nadel—filed the certificate of incorporation for a new organization, the Committee to Protect Journalists, which was dedicated to the defense and promotion of the “human and professional rights of journalists around the world.” Forty years later, we remain…
Kazakh journalist Aigul Utepova tried over political coverage
New York, March 31, 2021 – Kazakh authorities should immediately release journalist Aigul Utepova from house arrest, drop all charges against her, and allow her to work safely and freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 15, the Saryarkinsky District Court in Nur-Sultan, the capital, commenced Utepova’s trial on charges of participating…
Belarus police detain and fine at least 16 journalists over protest coverage, ties to foreign news outlets
New York, March 30, 2021 –Belarusian authorities should immediately release journalist Andrzej Poczobut, and stop detaining and fining members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Between March 18 and 27, Belarusian authorities detained at least 16 journalists and fined at least three members of the press, according to news reports, and…
At least 17 journalists injured covering protests in Bangladesh
Washington, D.C., March 29, 2021 – Bangladesh police must ensure that officers do not harm members of the press covering protests, and should investigate attacks on journalists by demonstrators and police officers, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 25 and 26, in Dhaka, the capital, members of the Chhatra League, the youth…
Journalists released in Myanmar, Morocco, and Somalia
This week, CPJ called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow journalists to access detention facilities and Border Patrol activities along the U.S.-Mexico border. D.H.S. and Border Patrol officials have recently barred the press from entering detention facilities, citing privacy and COVID-19 concerns. In Morocco, press freedom advocates and journalists’ families told CPJ…
CPJ calls on US government to give journalists access to border detention facilities
New York, March 23, 2021 — The United States Department of Homeland Security must allow journalists access to detention facilities and Border Patrol activities along the U.S.- Mexico border, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In recent weeks, D.H.S. and Border Patrol officials have barred all members of the press from entering detention facilities,…
Kyrgyz journalists on the online ‘fake farms’ that threaten to kill them
“At first, they appeared on my Instagram, then they showed up on my Facebook and YouTube accounts,” Ali Toktakunov told CPJ in a phone interview. The investigative Kyrgyz journalist and founder of Ali Toktakunov’s Media Hub, a foundation for investigative journalism, says he is a frequent target of trolls or fake social media accounts that…
RFE/RL contributor Vladislav Yesypenko arrested, accused of espionage in Crimea
New York, March 18, 2021 – Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Vladislav Yesypenko and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 10, Federal Security Service officers in Russian-occupied Crimea detained Yesypenko, a freelance journalist, according to news reports and a lawyer hired by his family, Emil Kurbedinov,…
Dawit Kebede Araya
On January 19, 2021, Ethiopian national army soldiers shot and killed Dawit Kebede Araya, a reporter with the regional broadcaster Tigray TV, in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Tigray state, according to media reports; Bemnet Woldegiorgis, a friend of Dawit’s who witnessed the attack and who spoke to CPJ via messaging app; and a…
CPJ calls on U.S. and allies to #SanctionMBS in wake of Khashoggi report
Following the release of a damning intelligence report alleging that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, CPJ called on the U.S. and allies to sanction the crown prince. CPJ’s Senior Middle East and North Africa Researcher Justin Shilad examined report takeaways, noting that while U.S. President Joe…