CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering Uganda’s elections
On January 14, 2021, incumbent Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will seek a sixth term, amid challenges from opposition candidates Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, and Patrick Oboi Amuriat, according to multiple news reports. During the general election campaign, security personnel have arrested both candidates and violently dispersed political rallies and protests, according to…
In 2020, U.S. journalists faced unprecedented attacks
As the Committee to Protect Journalists publishes its annual tally of journalists imprisoned around the world, not a single U.S. reporter is behind bars for their work. But that statistic belies the country’s marred press freedom landscape following the summer’s Black Lives Matter protests in which journalists were handcuffed, shoved, and shot at with less-lethal…
Bangladesh High Court directs authorities to “block” journalist’s social media channels
The Bangladesh High Court directed authorities to “block” journalist Kanak Sarwar’s social media pages, including YouTube and Facebook, on December 8, 2020 after he interviewed a politician in Bangladesh on YouTube, according to Sarwar and local news reports. It was not clear if the authorities had contacted YouTube or Facebook regarding Sarwar’s accounts, which he…
Kurdish Iraqi forces arrest NRT reporter Karzan Tariq while covering protests in Sulaymaniyah
New York, December 11, 2020 — Today, security forces affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party arrested Karzan Tariq, a reporter with the local NRT broadcaster, while he was covering protests over economic issues in the northeastern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, according to his employer and NRT General Director Awat Ali, who spoke to CPJ…
Journalists attacked, deported ahead of January elections in Uganda
Nairobi, December 11, 2020 — Ugandan authorities should ensure that journalists can cover the country’s upcoming elections safely and freely and should thoroughly investigate all attacks on the press by members of the public and by security forces, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since early November, police officers and members of the public…
Iraqi Kurdish security forces raid NRT headquarters, suspend broadcasts
New York, December 8, 2020 – Kurdish Iraqi authorities must reverse their suspension of local broadcaster NRT and allow the outlet to reopen its office and work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Early yesterday morning, security forces affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan political party raided NRT’s headquarters in the northeastern…
Uttar Pradesh journalist dies after alleged arson attack
New Delhi, December 4, 2020 — Police in India’s Uttar Pradesh state must thoroughly investigate the death of journalist Rakesh Singh and ensure that those responsible are swiftly prosecuted, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 28, Singh, a journalist with a local Hindi newspaper Rashtriya Swaroop, died from burn injuries after his house…
Two journalists killed in the Philippines in one week
Eleven years after the Maguindanao massacre in the Philippines, where 32 journalists and media workers were killed, the government has prematurely declared an end to impunity in journalist murders. Meanwhile, journalist killings continue: CPJ calls on Philippine authorities to investigate the deaths of Ronnie Villamor, shot by unidentified assailants on November 10, and Virgilio Maganes,…
Media luminaries join together in a powerful celebration of press freedom #IPFA
The media community and supporters of press freedom came together in a powerful celebration of journalism at last night’s International Press Freedom Awards. The host, veteran broadcast journalist Lester Holt, kicked off the evening, which took viewers on a journey through the repression faced by journalists in Iran, the brutal experience of prison for a…
Ecuadorian journalist Juán Sarmiento sentenced to prison for ‘discrediting’ local official
Bogotá, November 20, 2020 – Ecuadorian authorities should not contest journalist Juan Sarmiento’s appeal of a recent criminal conviction for critical comments about a local politician, and the country should remove speech laws from its penal code, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 12, the Justice Court of Napo, in central Ecuador,…