Daily Sangram reporter arrested in Bangladesh sedition case
New York, October 22, 2020— Bangladeshi authorities should immediately release reporter Ruhul Amin Gazi and let him work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday evening, police officers in the Hatirjheel neighborhood of Dhaka, the capital, arrested Gazi, a reporter with the Daily Sangram newspaper, according to news reports. The arrest came after…
CPJ Insider: Press freedom accountability project, journalists freed, and more
Press Freedom Accountability Project On May 26, 2020, the day after George Floyd was killed, two reporters covering a demonstration in Minneapolis were struck by projectiles. Since then, the number of press freedom violations during Black Lives Matter protests has risen dramatically. More than 850 violations have been reported to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker—which…
Ahead of Khashoggi anniversary, the fight for justice continues
Friday marks the second anniversary of the gruesome murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. CPJ continues our fight for justice in Khashoggi’s case, sending a message to the world that those responsible cannot get away with such a crime. In an op-ed for World Politics…
CPJ calls on Bangladeshi prime minister to arrange for release of journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol
CPJ asks Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to arrange for the immediate and unconditional release of jailed journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol, whose ill health makes him especially vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, potentially putting his life in danger.
Doubts over investigation plague Pavel Sheremet trial as Ukraine journalists cite continued fear
The trial of three people charged for the 2016 killing of Pavel Sheremet is set to begin before year’s end, but friends and colleagues of the journalist wonder if the right people are facing justice. It has been more than four years and two months since a powerful car bomb killed journalist Pavel Sheremet in…
As police investigate fresh attack amid Charlie Hebdo trial, French media unify around free expression
The knifings of two employees of a French TV production company outside the former Charlie Hebdo office on Friday, which occurred as a high-profile trial on the 2015 attacks on the newspaper was underway, was a stark reminder that threats to journalists have not disappeared in the five years since the deadly assault. The megatrial had started on September…
Ukrainian journalists threatened with gun, police in Kyiv refuse to intervene
New York, September 23, 2020 – Kyiv police should thoroughly investigate a gun threat against cameraman Yegor Serdiuk and reporter Anastasiya Bereziy and determine why police officers at the scene failed to protect the reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In the early hours of September 21, a man pointed a gun at…
Belarus authorities continue to arrest, detain journalists amid protests
Vilnius, Lithuania, September 21, 2020 — Belarusian authorities should release all reporters detained covering recent protests, and allow them to work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 16, the Frunze District Court in Minsk, the capital, tried and convicted two journalists who had covered the protests in the country calling…
Former VOA staffer Al Pessin on VOA’s role amid the Trump-appointee shakeup
At the end of August, journalists with the U.S. Congress-funded Voice of America (VOA) took the extraordinary step of ringing a public alarm bell about moves by the new CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA and several other outlets. VOA broadcasts in 47 languages and employs both U.S. citizens…
Police militarization (and wildfires) put U.S. journalists at risk
An increasingly militarized police presence at protests across the United States creates a dangerous reporting environment, journalists told CPJ. Those covering unrest in the U.S. are encouraged to consult CPJ’s new legal guide, which explains the rights of journalists when confronted by law enforcement while covering a protest or political event. Female journalists in Pakistan…