CPJ Insider: Summer 2024 edition
World Refugee Day: CPJ’s Lucy Westcott on journalists in exile For World Refugee Day on Thursday, June 20, CPJ highlighted the plight of journalists forced to flee their home countries due to threats, violence, and repression. As a growing number of journalists are being exiled, many face ongoing dangers even after they have reached safety….
Forced to flee: Exiled journalists face unsafe passage and transnational repression
By Lucy Westcott/CPJ Emergencies Director Threats, repression, conflict, and unrest: across the world, these and other factors are pushing journalists into exile in record numbers. In a striking development, exiled or soon-to-be exiled journalists now make up more than half of the people CPJ assists. Between January and June 2024, CPJ provided financial support to…
“State of Silence” premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival: Documentary traces attacks on the press in Mexico
On Monday at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) Mexico Representative Jan-Albert Hootsen joined a panel discussion following the global premiere of “State of Silence,” a documentary tracing attacks on journalists in Mexico, and the urgent need to strengthen the country’s federal protection mechanism for the press. The film, which charts…
CPJ hailed as a ‘Red Cross for journalism’
On Saturday, CPJ was awarded the Canadian Association of Journalists’ (CAJ) 2024 Charles Bury Award for commitment to protecting the safety and security of journalists at risk worldwide. “For decades, the CPJ has saved countless lives of journalists while simultaneously shining a bright light on the many draconian abuses to press freedom around the world,”…
CPJ, partners urge U.S. Senate to advance the PRESS Act
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined more than 85 journalism and civil society organizations and 35 attorneys and law professors in urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to schedule a markup of the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act (PRESS Act) as soon as possible so that it can be considered by the full…
CPJ, partners call on ICJ to order unimpeded media access to Gaza
As local and international media workers covering the Israel-Gaza war continue to face challenges reporting the news, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is documenting a broad range of press freedom violations and advocating on behalf of journalists. To that end, CPJ, ARTICLE 19 and partners issued a statement in support of South Africa’s urgent…
Why the Israel-Gaza war has become more difficult to document
As the Israel-Gaza war enters its eighth month, CPJ’s ability to verify attacks on the press has slowed to a crawl. A feature published this week explains why the Israel-Gaza war has become more difficult to document. An unprecedented number of deaths, with more than 90 Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli forces since the start…
CPJ welcomes South Africa’s abolition of criminal defamation
CPJ welcomes South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing into law a bill that abolishes criminal defamation, and urges authorities to reform other problematic laws that threaten press freedom in the country. On April 3, Ramaphosa signed the Judicial Matters Amendment Act (2023), which includes a provision repealing “the common law relating to the crime of…
CPJ calls on UN to investigate Israel’s arbitrary detention of Palestinian journalists
This week, CPJ called on the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to investigate Israel’s detention of Palestinian journalists. Israel is utilizing administrative detention to hold a record number of Palestinian journalists without charge during the war. We are calling on the Working Group specifically to investigate the cases of detained journalists Moath Amarneh,…
IDF assaulted, detained Al-Jazeera journalist in hospital raid
On Monday night, Al-Jazeera reporter Ismail Al-Ghoul was released by Israeli forces after being held for nearly 12 hours. In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Al-Ghoul recounted how he and several other journalists were assaulted by IDF soldiers, whom he said destroyed the journalists’ tent and damaged their equipment and press vehicles. Al-Ghoul said the journalists…