Fifth Mexican journalist killed in six weeks
Mexican journalist Heber López was shot dead in Oaxaca state on February 10, the latest in a string of journalist killings in the country. López is the fifth reporter killed in Mexico – the deadliest country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere – this year. “These killings will only stop with genuine, decisive actions by…
A jar of soil, a laptop, a handmade black coat: What Afghan journalists took into exile
In the frantic minutes before Naweeda Qayoumi fled her home in Afghanistan last September, she grabbed an empty plastic Vaseline jar and stepped into the garden to scoop a bit of soil from her homeland. She jammed the jar into the backpack she was taking into her unknown future with her husband, journalist Ghazanfar Hassanzada….
Joint statement by the Media Freedom Coalition – Consultative Network: More must be done to defend journalists and media freedom
Tallinn, Estonia, February 10, 2022 — The Media Freedom Coalition – Consultative Network[1], a group of 22 organizations representing civil society, press freedom and media development groups and journalists worldwide, calls on the Media Freedom Coalition to take stronger and more concrete actions to defend media freedom and the safety of journalists worldwide. Media freedom has…
Taliban forces beat, interrogate journalist Zahid Samadzai in Kabul
New York, February 3, 2022 — The Taliban must immediately investigate the detention and abuse in custody of journalist Abdul Qayum Zahid Samadzai, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Tuesday, February 1, a man who identified himself as a member of the Taliban’s Directorate General of Intelligence…
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…
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…
‘All-out assault’ on Hong Kong’s press continues ahead of Beijing Olympics
As China prepares to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Chinese authorities continue to imprison journalists without consequence and crack down on the independent press in Hong Kong. Last month, Hong Kong authorities filed new charges against media entrepreneur and CPJ 2021 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Awardee Jimmy Lai, along with six former staff…
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….
In Benin, growing fears over law that can jail journalists for posting news online
Posting on Facebook from Benin’s Central Office for Repression of Cybercrime on November 18, journalist Patrice Gbaguidi wrote that authorities had summoned him for a second time in two weeks over a defamation complaint about one of his articles. That day, he and Hervé Alladé, the owner of Le Soleil Bénin Infos newspaper where Gbaguidi…