News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, June 2015
Pushing for press freedom at European Games Azerbaijan, which ranks in fifth place on CPJ’s list of 10 Most Censored Countries, hosted the first-ever European Games in its capital, Baku, this month. One of the country’s most prominent journalists, Khadija Ismayilova, has been in jail there since December 2014 for reporting on sensitive issues, including…
Egypt’s imprisonment of journalists is at an all-time high
Egyptian authorities continue to imprison critical journalists while openly pledging media freedom. Egypt has the highest number of journalists behind bars since CPJ began keeping records, most of them accused of affiliation with a banned group. A special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists
Dieu Cay on solitary confinement, hunger strikes, and his fight for press freedom
EDITOR’S NOTE: Held in solitary confinement and stripped of his human rights, Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Van Hai suffered greatly during his six and a half years in prison. The 63-year-old outspoken critic of the repressive Vietnamese government was granted early release from a 12-year sentence last year, thanks in part to campaigning by CPJ. Hai,…
Baku 2015: Press freedom, Azerbaijan, and the European Games
Tomorrow 50 countries are due to take part in the opening ceremony of the inaugural European Games in Baku, but Azerbaijan’s most prominent journalist, Khadija Ismayilova, will not be at the celebrations. The award-winning investigative reporter has been in jail since December on retaliatory charges over her writing on corruption.
CPJ urges Nigerian president to prioritize press freedom
President Buhari: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to congratulate you on your recent victory in Nigeria’s presidential election. As Nigeria prepares to enter a new chapter in its history, we urge you and your administration to take steps to ensure that journalists are able to work freely and openly in the country without fear of reprisal of any form.
Qatar detains international journalists for the second time this year
New York, May 18, 2015–For the second time in two months, an international news crew was arrested and interrogated by Qatari security officials while they were reporting on the human rights situation in Qatar in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention and…
Azerbaijan: Olympic Officials Should Insist on Prisoner Releases
As European Games Near, EOC Leaders Should End Silence (Brussels, May 14, 2015) – The leadership of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) should insist that the government of Azerbaijan release journalists and activists ahead of the European Games, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Azerbaijan will host the games, a…
Why Spain’s new gag law is threat to free flow of information
On July 1 a public security law is due to come into force in Spain amid an increasingly vocal chorus of concern among the media and press freedom groups. The bill–dubbed the “ley mordaza,” or “gag law,” by opposition groups–would define protests in front of parliament and other government buildings as a “disturbance of public…
