Ghana won’t have press freedom without accountability
Three bullets, fired at close range by two assassins on a black and blue Boxer motorbike on January 16, 2019, killed investigative journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, according to Sammy Darko, a lawyer working on Divela’s case. Darko told CPJ over the phone that bystanders saw it happen. Ghana’s media community, international rights groups (including CPJ),…
Ugandan authorities arrest BBC journalists investigating black market drug sales
Nairobi, February 7, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Ugandan authorities to immediately release a team of three journalists and one media worker detained in connection with their investigative reporting and to drop any investigation into a fourth journalist, who is part of the same team.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of January 28, 2019
Düzkan starts jail term for Özgür Gündem campaignJournalist Ayşe Düzkan started serving an 18-month prison sentence in Bakırköy Women’s Prison in Istanbul on January 29 over her participation in a solidarity campaign with the daily newspaper Özgür Gündem, the independent news website Bianet reported. A court sentenced Düzkan in November. Before turning herself in, Düzkanb…
Q&A: Rodney Sieh on how Liberia’s press is faring under Weah presidency
Rodney Sieh, editor-in-chief and publisher of Liberian investigative outlet FrontPageAfrica, knows first-hand the harassment and risks critical journalists in his country face. In 2013, CPJ documented how he was sentenced to prison over unpaid fines in a criminal defamation case.
Security forces detain TV crews and shut down broadcaster’s office in Iraqi Kurdistan
Beirut, January 28, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the closure by Kurdish security forces of the Iraqi independent broadcaster NRT’s office in Dohuk, Iraqi Kurdistan, and urged the Kurdish regional government to immediately allow NRT to resume its work.
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering the political crisis in Venezuela
UPDATED: This safety advisory was updated on February 20, 2019. In response to disputed election results, Venezuelans from both sides have taken to the streets in recent weeks, according to news reports. The crisis began following the inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro to his second term on January 10, after an electoral process characterized by…
Four Iraqi journalists detained in Mosul and Erbil
Between January 16 and 22, 2019, at least four Iraqi journalists were detained in connection with their work in Mosul and Irbil, according to news reports, the journalists’ employers, and the local press freedom groups Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq and the Iraqi Center for Supporting Freedom of Speech.
Libyan photojournalist killed by shelling during Tripoli clashes
New York, January 23, 2019–The killing of freelancer Mohamed Ben Khalifa in Libya underscores the dangers for photojournalists working in conflict zones, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Ben Khalifa, a photographer who contributed to outlets including The Associated Press, was killed during clashes south of Tripoli on January 19, according to news reports,…
For local female journalists in US, rape threats, stalkers, harassment can come with the beat
In 2016, the FBI told a local TV journalist that she wasn’t safe sleeping in her own home. Her TV station, which covers a major American city, hired an off-duty police officer to guard the parking lot when she arrived at work. Even for a journalist covering organized crime, such measures may seem extreme–but her…