ATR

Washington D.C., April 2, 2026—Iran is now in the grip of the longest internet blackout in its history, a near-total shutdown that has stretched more than 30 days and reduced connectivity to almost zero. Imposed amid war and unrest, the sweeping, government-imposed blackout has effectively sealed off the country, cutting journalists’ access to sources and…

Sharmelí Bustíos Patiño was only 14 when her father, 38-year-old Peruvian journalist Hugo Bustíos Saavedra, was killed on November 24, 1988, while covering the war between the Peruvian army and Shining Path fighters in a violent ambush near the town of Huanta. After nearly four decades of fighting to find her father’s killer, Sharmelí found justice in 2023…

Bogotá, March 20, 2026—Ecuadorian authorities must swiftly and comprehensively investigate the shooting of journalist José Vinces Oviedo in the southern city of Huaquillas and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. “We urge authorities to swiftly and credibly investigate the shooting of journalist José Vinces Oviedo in Huaquillas, determine whether the attack…

New York, March 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Azerbaijan to release journalist Ahmad Mammadli and credibly investigate claims that police severely mistreated him. A court in the capital, Baku, sentenced Mammadli on Monday to six years in prison on a charge of causing serious bodily harm. Mammadli denied the charge and said it…

The Committee to Protect Journalists is monitoring press freedom violations related to the ongoing military escalation between Israel, the U.S and Iran and its spillover across the Middle East, including its regional and global impact on journalists and media workers. Since the Iran war broke out on February 28, when the U.S and Israel launched…

Bangkok, March 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalist Le Anh Hung and cease harassing independent commentators for expressing critical views online. On March 9, police arrested Hung at a friend’s house in central Dak Lak province, according to news reports and information compiled by Project 88, an independent rights group that…

Journalists in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo face constant danger as warring parties seek to control information.  In January, February, and early March, government forces and rebel groups both detained journalists over their reporting, including several for simply conducting interviews, while the rebel forces that control parts of the country’s eastern provinces held military positions in…

Kampala, March 4, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the provisional release of journalist Sandra Muhoza and calls on Burundian authorities not to oppose her appeal of her conviction.  On February 27, the public prosecutor at the court of appeal in the northern Ngozi region directed Muhoza’s release on the condition that she remain in the province,…

New York, March 3, 2026—Belarusian authorities should immediately release journalists Uladzimir Yanukevich and Andrei Pakalenka, and stop jailing journalists for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On February 26, a court in the southwestern city of Brest convicted 66-year-old Yanukevich and 44-year-old Pakalenka on treason charges, and sentenced them to 14 and…

Content warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of physical, psychological, and sexual violence. Palestinian journalist Ahmed Abdel Aal remembers the moment the ear-splitting music started. For five days, he said, he was held blindfolded in a room in an Israeli detention site, stripped and beaten, while loud Hebrew and English songs played at an unrelenting…