Iraqi border guards briefly detain 3 Shar Press journalists
On January 30, 2023, Iraqi border guards in Halabja province, near the border with Iran, detained a three-person video crew from the independent Shar Press media agency for about three hours, according to a report by the agency and Shar Press correspondent Hawraz Ahmed, who spoke to CPJ by phone. The team, which consisted of…
67 journalists killed worldwide in 2022; Latin America is the deadliest region for the press
The year 2022 was a deadly one for members of the press. At least 67 journalists and media workers were killed, the highest number since 2018 and a nearly 50% increase from 2021, CPJ found in its annual report on killed journalists, released Tuesday. More than half of the killings occurred in just three countries—Ukraine…
Dozens of journalists harassed, injured amid Peru protests
In Peru, more than 70 journalists have been harassed and attacked since anti-government protests broke out in December, following the impeachment and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo. In one incident on January 7, police officers threatened to kill Aldair Mejía, a photographer for the Spanish news agency EFE who was covering anti-government demonstrations in…
At least 15 journalists on Turkish list of wanted terrorists
On December 30, exiled Turkish journalist Can Dündar revealed that he had been added to the so-called terrorist “gray list,” a database published by the Turkish Interior Ministry that identifies alleged terrorists and offers rewards for their capture. Dündar, who reported on alleged weapon smuggling from Turkey to Syria in 2014, received CPJ’s 2016 International…
Year in review: The most-read press freedom stories of 2022
In 2022, press freedom was under near constant attack. CPJ recorded the highest number of journalists imprisoned globally for their work in 30 years, with 363 imprisoned as of December 1, 2022. Iranian authorities’ arrests of dozens of journalists amid a brutal crackdown on anti-state protests made it the world’s worst jailer of the press….
CPJ Insider: Year-end 2022 edition
Your support this year helped sustain CPJ’s work and mission at a time when journalists across the globe face threats while doing their jobs. Thank you for being a friend and partner throughout 2022 in defending our right to be informed. For this edition of Insider, we’re including just a few of the highlights from…
Forensic tools open new front for using phone data to prosecute journalists
In a new feature published this week, CPJ’s Consultant Technology Editor Madeline Earp explains how forensic tools open a new front for using phone data to prosecute journalists. A law enforcement agent scrolling through a journalist’s unlocked phone is already a problematic scenario for press freedom. This risk is supercharged by technology that can copy…
Forensic tools open new front for using phone data to prosecute journalists
On April 13, police in Russia’s Khakassiya republic arrested Mikhail Afanasyev and seized his digital devices. Afanasyev, chief editor of the online magazine Novy Fokus, was detained based on an article about riot police in southern Siberia refusing to serve in Ukraine. He faces a possible 10-year prison sentence for spreading “false” information. It’s not surprising for…
Journalist imprisonments reach 30-year high
The number of journalists jailed around the world set yet another record this year, with 363 imprisoned as of December 1, 2022, according to CPJ’s 2022 prison census. This is the highest number CPJ has recorded in the 30-year history of the census, overtaking last year’s record by 20%. The notable increase, led by a…
