Russia-Ukraine watch
How the war is affecting press freedom in the region Updated June 16, 2022 Russia’s February 24 full-scale invasion of Ukraine marked a sharp escalation in threats to press freedom in the region and beyond. Journalists in Ukraine have been killed covering the war, while many of their Russian counterparts have fled or faced persecution….
Reporting on, and living through, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Local and international journalists in Ukraine are risking their lives to report the news as Russia’s invasion continues. Russian forces have shelled a TV broadcast tower in Kyiv, in an attack that killed five people including journalist Yevhenii Sakun. Journalists are considered civilians, and the bombing may constitute a violation of international humanitarian law. Separately,…
Afghanistan’s intelligence agency emerges as new threat to independent media
On January 19, the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) publicly called on Afghan media to refrain from publishing and broadcasting what it termed “false news and baseless rumors.” The warning amounted to the first public acknowledgement of something that Afghan journalists already knew: a tough new cop was on the beat. The emergence of…
Somali police raid Sooyal TV and Radio, assault Radio Hiraan Weyne reporter
Nairobi, February 14, 2022 – Authorities in the Somali states of Galmudug and Hirshabelle should investigate and hold to account police officers who assaulted and arrested journalists and ensure that security personnel do not pose a threat to media freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On the evening of January 24, a group…
Seven Somali journalists detained, radio station raided after interview with opposition group
Lusaka, January 28, 2022 – Authorities in Somalia’s south-central Hirshabelle state must stop intimidating and censoring the press through arbitrary arrests and station closures because they disagree with reported content, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Friday afternoon, January 21, 2022, heavily armed police in Beledweyne, a city in Somalia’s Hirshabelle state, raided…
Vigils across Mexico: Three journalists killed in two weeks
After the disturbing killings of three Mexican journalists in less than two weeks, journalists in nearly 40 locations around Mexico took to the streets Tuesday night to demand the federal government do more to ensure security for reporters under threat and to end impunity in cases of murdered journalists. The three Mexican journalists killed this…
‘Watershed’ protests demand end to violence against journalists in Mexico
After reporter Maria Guadalupe Lourdes Maldonado López was shot and killed in her car outside her Tijuana home on Sunday, January 23, journalists in Mexico put out a call to action in group chats and across social media platforms. It was time to protest. Maldonado’s death was the third journalist killing in less than a…
Why the UN’s push for a cybercrime treaty could imperil journalists simply for using the internet
Cybercrime is on the global agenda as a United Nations committee appointed to develop a treaty on the topic plans for its first meeting amid pandemic-related delays. The process is slated to take at least two years, but experts warn that such a treaty – initially proposed by Russia – could hand new tools to…
Albanian riot police attack journalists covering demonstration
Berlin, January 18, 2022 — Albanian authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate police attacks on journalists covering a recent demonstration, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that reporters can cover events of public interest without fear of injury, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 8, in Tirana, the capital, hundreds of…
How social media regulation could affect the press
The United Kingdom moved a step closer to regulating social media in December when a parliamentary committee recommended major changes to the country’s Online Safety Bill so as to hold internet service providers responsible for material published on their platforms. “We need to call time on the Wild West online,” said committee chair Damian Collins….