CPJ Insider: March 2019 edition
Venezuela’s press freedom crisis heats up CPJ’s Central and South America program and Emergencies Response Team have been in overdrive amid an intensifying press crackdown in Venezuela, which reached a new level when the Maduro government briefly detained Univision reporter and anchor Jorge Ramos and his crew on February 26.
In Egypt, New York Times correspondent expelled, local journalist detained on false news charges
New York Times correspondent David D. Kirkpatrick was denied entry into Egypt on Monday. His phone was confiscated and he was held in the airport for seven hours without food or water before authorities forced him onto a flight back to London without explanation. The move against Kirkpatrick comes after authorities detained a local journalist,…
Chhattisgarh’s plan for journalist safety law could be template for all India
Every day for two years, freelance journalist Santosh Yadav must walk the 50 or so yards from his home to the Darbha village police station in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, to sign a register. Just one missed day could immediately land him back in prison as he awaits trial on anti-terror charges. A police commander said that…
UAE hired former NSA employees to surveil journalists and human rights activists
CPJ expressed concern that at least four journalists were surveilled under Project Raven, a United Arab Emirates cybersurveillance and hacking operation, according to a Reuters report. CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour called the involvement of U.S. intelligence officials in the operation “disturbing.” CPJ North America Research Assistant Stephanie Sugars took…
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering the 2019 political crisis in Venezuela
UPDATED: This safety advisory was updated on February 20, 2019. In response to disputed election results, Venezuelans from both sides have taken to the streets in recent weeks, according to news reports. The crisis began following the inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro to his second term on January 10, after an electoral process characterized by…
Four Iraqi journalists detained in Mosul and Erbil
Between January 16 and 22, 2019, at least four Iraqi journalists were detained in connection with their work in Mosul and Irbil, according to news reports, the journalists’ employers, and the local press freedom groups Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq and the Iraqi Center for Supporting Freedom of Speech.
Another delay in justice for Reuters’ journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo
A Myanmar court upholds the conviction of Reuters news agency reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. Investigative journalist Ahmed Divela shot dead in Ghana. In Romania, the EU GDPR privacy law is being used to try to muzzle investigative outlet, Rise Project. Global press freedom updates: CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator…
CPJ, international journalists express deep concern over deteriorating press freedom climate in Nicaragua, call for release of detained reporters
CPJ and more than 200 international journalists write to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to express deep concern over the recent escalation of aggression against media outlets and journalists covering civil unrest and documenting human rights abuses by police and paramilitary groups.
A letter from CPJ’s Washington Advocacy Manager
Dear friend of CPJ, Happy New Year from Washington, D.C.! It was only 18 months ago that I joined the Committee to Protect Journalists as its inaugural Washington advocacy manager. My first couple weeks on the job were spent strategizing about how to handle the new political landscape in the United States. In a world…