Veteran journalist shot dead
New York, December 17, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is shocked and saddened by last night’s assassination of Deyda Hydara, a veteran Gambian journalist and outspoken press freedom advocate. Hydara, managing editor and co-owner of the independent newspaper The Point, as well as a correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Reporters without Borders (RSF), was…
Year in review: The most-read press freedom stories of 2023
As we approach the end of a truly volatile year, CPJ has documented physical attacks, imprisonment, and legal harassment against the press accelerate relentlessly in frequency and severity, and we have seen more journalists than ever fleeing into exile. Journalists face increasingly hostile environments in conflict zones, as more journalists have been killed in the…
‘Unparalleled’: Israel-Gaza war takes record toll on journalists
A new analysis released today by CPJ shows that more journalists have been killed in the first 10 weeks of the war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year. As of December 20, 2023, at least 68 journalists and media workers have been killed since the October 7 start…
CPJ calls for accountability in Israeli strike on journalists
Reports released today by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse (AFP) into the October 13 strike on journalists in southern Lebanon found that the attack, which killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injured six others, was likely a deliberate assault by the Israel Defense Forces on civilians, which would constitute a war…
Haiti joins list of countries where killers of journalists most likely to go unpunished
By Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director The persistent lack of justice for murdered reporters is a major threat to press freedom. Ten years after the United Nations declared an international day to end impunity for crimes against journalists – and more than 30 years after CPJ began documenting these killings – almost 80% of their killings…
#EndImpunity: Vast majority of journalists’ murderers go free
No one has been held to account for nearly 80% of journalist murders during the last 10 years, CPJ’s 2022 Global Impunity Index found, and governments show little interest in tackling the issue. Somalia remains the worst offender on the index for the eighth straight year. Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, respectively, round out…
CPJ urges Gambia authorities to prioritize legal reforms, accountability for crimes against the press
Abuja, June 29, 2022 – Gambian authorities should adopt the reforms recommended by the country’s Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC)—including ensuring journalists are not prosecuted for sedition—work to swiftly hold former President Yahya Jammeh and members of his “Junglers” death squad to account for their crimes against journalists, and end the culture of impunity…
As Russia invades Ukraine, risks mount for reporters covering conflict, CPJ calls for journalists’ protection
As Russian forces invade Ukraine, Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, explains in a Q&A the possible risks for journalists on the ground, including being killed, injured, or taken hostage, and the potential challenges of reporting amid misinformation and disinformation. If a new pro-Kremlin regime is installed in Ukraine, it “would likely…
Year in review: The state of press freedom in 2019
This year, journalists worldwide faced attacks, arrests, and censorship. In September, we released our annual 10 Most Censored list, highlighting the range of online and offline techniques used to censor journalism and restrict press freedom. Meanwhile, protests in over two dozen countries posed risks to members of the press. Journalists faced threats while covering civil…
CPJ Insider: August 2019 edition
CPJ awardee Zaffar Abbas: The Pakistani government has decided ‘to kill journalism’ Pressure campaigns by press freedom groups are a vital line of defense against a rapidly deteriorating environment for independent media in Pakistan under Prime Minister Imran Khan, said Zaffar Abbas, the editor of Dawn and CPJ’s 2019 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award winner,…