Number of jailed journalists spikes to new global record
The number of journalists jailed around the world set yet another record in 2022. In a year marked by conflict and repression, authoritarian leaders doubled down on their criminalization of independent reporting, deploying increasing cruelty to stifle dissenting voices and undermine press freedom. Published December 14, 2022 By Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director Worst Offenders |…
CPJ and partners call on US to drop charges against Julian Assange
Today, CPJ and 20 other human rights organizations sent a letter to the Biden administration to call for the U.S. Department of Justice to drop its criminal and extradition proceedings against Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, under the Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. CPJ has been urging the U.S. not to…
Shanghai police target foreign journalists covering anti-lockdown protests
Foreign journalists have been detained and beaten while covering demonstrations in China against the government’s stringent COVID-19 policies, which have been blamed for interfering with firefighters’ efforts to rescue victims of a deadly apartment building fire. On November 27, Shanghai police assaulted Edward Lawrence, a journalist for British public broadcaster BBC, while he was covering…
CPJ Insider: December 2022 edition
CPJ honors courageous journalists at 2022 awards ceremony On Thursday, November 17, CPJ honored courageous journalists from Cuba, Iraqi Kurdistan, Ukraine, and Vietnam at its 32nd annual International Press Freedom Awards ceremony. CPJ also honored Russian editor Galina Timchenko with the 2022 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award. This year’s awards ceremony was hosted by ABC…
What CPJ is thankful for in 2022
While this newsletter usually spotlights cases of journalists under attack globally, we wanted to take this week, ahead of the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving, to reflect on what we have been grateful for this past year. Journalists have inspired us continuously throughout 2022, governments have taken steps to protect press freedom, and justice has finally…
Committee to Protect Journalists honors reporters who defy war and repression
New York, November 18, 2022—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) paid tribute Thursday evening to inspirational journalists from Cuba, Iraqi Kurdistan, Ukraine, and Vietnam by presenting them with the 2022 International Press Freedom Awards (IPFA). CPJ’s board of directors also honored Russian editor and publisher Galina Timchenko with its 2022 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award. The event was held…
#FreeAlaa: CPJ calls for release of British-Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah
Ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27)—which began in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Sunday, November 6—CPJ joined more than 60 civil society organizations in a letter calling Egyptian authorities to immediately release British-Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abdelfattah, who announced an escalation of his hunger strike in prison, “and all those arrested and…
CPJ Insider: November 2022 edition
Zero-click spyware poses existential crisis for journalism: A Q&A with CPJ Technology Editor Madeline Earp CPJ recently released its special report, “How zero-click surveillance threatens reporters, sources, and global press freedom.” For this month’s Insider, we spoke to Madeline Earp, CPJ’s technology editor, about how governments use spyware against journalists–and what CPJ is doing to…
#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…
New US Justice Department guidelines on source protection ‘an important step to protect press freedom’
On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the revision of the Justice Department’s regulations to restrict federal prosecutors’ ability to obtain journalists’ phone and email records in government leak investigations with narrow exceptions. The Department of Justice said this decision codifies Garland’s July 2021 policy change to extend the protections. “This is an important…