CPJ Insider: September 2023 edition
Afghanistan Two Years Later: An Analysis by CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi and Asia Researcher Waliullah Rahmani So far in 2023, CPJ has provided crucial assistance to at least 30 journalists from Afghanistan amid continued threats from the Taliban that have forced many into exile. When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021,…
Two years into Taliban rule, media repression worsens in Afghanistan
When the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, they promised to protect press freedom and women’s rights – a key facet of their efforts to paint a picture of moderation compared to their oppressive rule in the late 1990s. “We are committed to the media within our cultural frameworks. Private media can continue to…
Taliban must end media crackdown in Afghanistan after two years’ rule
Kuala Lumpur, August 14, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Taliban to stop its relentless campaign of media intimidation and abide by its promise to protect journalists in Afghanistan. “Two years after the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan’s once vibrant free press is a ghost of its former self,” Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program…
Journalists targeted ahead of elections in Senegal and DRC
Ahead of elections in Senegal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, journalists are being legally harassed and physically attacked. In Senegal, journalist Pape Alé Niang was arrested on July 29 and released on August 8, following a 10-day hunger strike. The day before his arrest, Niang broadcasted a video on his outlet’s YouTube channel,…
CPJ’s support to exiled journalists jumped 227% in 3 years
Journalists have been increasingly fleeing for safety, as shown in a newly published analysis of CPJ’s assistance data over the past three years. To mark World Refugee Day on June 20, CPJ shed light on the crackdowns that cause journalists to flee and the urgent circumstances particular to journalists as CPJ continues to advocate for…
CPJ’s support to exiled journalists jumped 227% in 3 years, reflecting global press freedom crisis
Keep closely connected to your homeland and don’t despair: that is advice Syrian journalist Okba Mohammad said he would offer to Afghan journalists who fled after the August 2021 Taliban takeover. Mohammad knows firsthand the challenges of exile. In 2019, he made a new life in Spain after fleeing the Syrian civil war with CPJ’s…
CPJ welcomes new board chair, Jacob Weisberg
CPJ announced today that Jacob Weisberg has been elected chair of its board of directors. His term will run from 2023 to 2026, and he will succeed Kathleen Carroll, who has been a member of the CPJ board since 2008 and chair since 2017. “When it comes to defending journalists and press freedom, CPJ has…
Journalists shot, beaten, and harassed covering conflict between Sudan’s rival military groups
CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa team looked at the dangerous environment for journalists in Sudan as they cover the armed conflict that broke out April 15 between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), former allies who jointly seized power in a 2021 coup. Hundreds of civilians have died, hundreds…
CPJ Insider: June 2023 edition
CPJ celebrates World Press Freedom Day For the first time in its 30-year history, World Press Freedom Day was held in New York with journalists, diplomats, and advocates from across the world convening for discussions and activities. CPJ, which is headquartered in New York, hosted a number of events on May 3 and throughout the…
Texas journalists continue to seek answers on the Uvalde school shooting — and to grieve
When a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022, journalists rushed to the scene. One year later, CPJ went to Uvalde and spoke with those journalists, for whom covering the shooting was deeply personal. The journalists played a pivotal role in helping families…