Nicaragua releases, sends hundreds of political prisoners, 2 journalists to US
Nicaraguan authorities freed and deported 222 political prisoners to the United States on Thursday, including at least two journalists: Juan Lorenzo Holmann Chamorro, publisher of La Prensa, and Miguel Mendoza Urbina, a sports and political commentator. Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director, said the deportation “brings a sense of relief that they will…
CPJ Insider: February 2023 edition
Maria Ressa acquitted on spurious charges: A Q&A with Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn W. Crispin A Philippine Court of Tax Appeals in January acquitted Nobel laureate and CPJ’s 2018 Gwen Ifill Award winner Maria Ressa of tax evasion in four of seven cases brought by the government against her and the news organization she…
Deadly year for journalists as killings rose sharply in 2022
By Jennifer Dunham/CPJ Deputy Editorial Director Published January 24, 2023 Key Takeaways | Methodology | 2022 Killed Data | Interactive Map | Video The year 2022 was deadly for members of the press. At least 67 journalists and media workers were killed during the year–the highest number since 2018 and an almost 50% increase from…
Nobel laureate Maria Ressa acquitted of tax evasion in the Philippines
This week marked the fourth anniversary of the murder of Ghanaian journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, who was gunned down by unidentified men months after threats by a local politician. Despite Ghanaian leaders’ promises of justice, a 2019 framework for improved relations and the safety of journalists, police assurances of progress, and two arrests, nobody has…
Killing with impunity: Vast majority of journalists’ murderers go free
By Jennifer Dunham/CPJ Deputy Editorial Director No one has been held to account in 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. Published November 1, 2022 Statistical table | Methodology | Database: All journalists murdered for their work…
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…
CPJ Insider: October 2022 edition
Mass protests and arrests in Iran: a Q&A with Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ’s Senior Researcher When mass protests erupted in Iran more than two weeks ago, the government cracked down hard. As clashes between security forces and demonstrators left many dead and disruptions to internet service made information hard to obtain, CPJ learned that security forces…
‘An open-air prison’: Kashmiri journalists on how travel bans undermine press freedom
When Indian immigration officials stopped freelance Kashmiri journalist Aakash Hassan at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi international airport on July 26, they held him for several hours and questioned him about his family, his professional background and his reason for traveling – and refused to allow him to board his Sri Lanka flight because, they said, he was listed…