Belarusian authorities continue to arrest, obstruct journalists covering protests
Vilnius, Lithuania, September 8, 2020 — Belarusian authorities should immediately release all journalists detained while covering nationwide protests, return their property, and drop all charges against them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since yesterday, authorities have ordered the detention of at least two journalists, raided a journalist’s home, and fined two freelance reporters,…
Report: Rio de Janeiro mayor’s office paid employees to harass journalists covering pandemic
New York, September 1, 2020 – Brazilian national TV channel Globo yesterday aired an investigative report that found that the office of Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella used public funds to pay groups of municipal employees to monitor and obstruct journalists at local hospitals and block news crews from covering the COVID-19 pandemic. “It…
Jordanian security forces arrest cartoonist Emad Hajjaj over criticism of Israel-UAE deal
New York, August 27, 2020 — Jordanian authorities should immediately release cartoonist Emad Hajjaj, drop all charges against him, and let him work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, a police patrol arrested Hajjaj, a cartoonist for the Qatari-funded news website Al-Araby al-Jadeed, on the Jordan Valley road while the cartoonist was…
CPJ, nearly 400 journalists & civil society members call for release of imprisoned Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 397 writers, journalists, academics, press freedom advocates, and civil society members to urge Prime Minister Modi to immediately release Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan, who has been imprisoned for two years.
Hospitalized Belarusian journalist tells of brutality in detention
Belarusian journalist Alena Scharbinskaya spoke to CPJ from the hospital about her traumatic experience being arrested during protests in the country, and the severe beatings she endured in a Minsk detention center. She was among dozens of journalists detained and beaten by security forces since protests broke out throughout the country. “I am not frightened…
Hospitalized Belarusian journalist Alena Scharbinskaya tells of beatings inside Minsk detention center
Alena Scharbinskaya, a correspondent with the independent satellite broadcaster Belsat TV, was among dozens of journalists detained last week in Belarus when protests erupted after the re-election of President Aleksandr Lukashenko, whose victory has been contested by many voters and the opposition. She was kept for three days in the now-infamous detention center known among locals…
Iraqi Kurdish security forces raid broadcaster, detain and beat journalists, seize equipment
New York, August 14, 2020 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities must cease harassing local news outlets, return journalists’ equipment they have seized, and let reporters cover protests freely and without fear of assault or detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 12, Iraqi Kurdish Asayish security forces raided the offices of local broadcaster…
Hong Kong journalists struggle to carry on as national security law hits Apple Daily
An unnerving wait for the first impact on journalists of Hong Kong’s new National Security Law came to an abrupt end early yesterday when police arrested Next Digital founder and chair Jimmy Lai, along with four company executives and his two sons, while sending more than a hundred police officers on a raid of Apple…
Kashmir new media policy is “nail in the coffin” for free press
One year after the Indian government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s limited governing autonomy, Kashmiri journalists told CPJ Senior Asia Researcher Aliya Iftikhar about new tactics authorities are using to censor the media. Press freedom has deteriorated drastically, with a rise in harassment, ongoing communication restrictions, increased surveillance, and a proposed new media policy that would be a “nail in the coffin” for media in Kashmir….
Belarusian journalists detained ahead of presidential elections
Vilnius, Lithuania, August 6, 2020 — Belarusian authorities should immediately release blogger Evgeniy Vasilkov and allow him and other journalists to freely and safely cover upcoming presidential elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 31, police arrested Vasilkov, a blogger who also works as a mechanic, at his garage in Khoiniki, near…