Vladislav Yesypenko
Ukrainian journalist Vladislav Yesypenko is serving a five-year prison sentence after being convicted by a court in Simferopol, the capital of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Crimea, of possessing and transporting explosives in February 2022. Russia Federal Security Service (FSB) officers detained him in March 2021. He was initially sentenced to six years in prison in February 2022,…
Killers of journalists still get away with murder
No one has been held to account in 81% of journalist murders during the last 10 years, CPJ’s 2021 Global Impunity Index has found. By Jennifer Dunham/CPJ Deputy Editorial Director Published October 28, 2021 Somalia remains the world’s worst country for unsolved killings of journalists, according to CPJ’s annual Global Impunity Index, which spotlights countries…
CPJ welcomes Katherine Jacobsen as U.S. and Canada program coordinator
New York, August 30, 2021–The Committee to Protect Journalists is pleased to announce that Katherine Jacobsen has been named U.S. and Canada program coordinator. Jacobsen will lead CPJ’s work reporting on press freedom in the United States and Canada and head advocacy efforts to improve press freedom in both countries. “I’m delighted that Katherine will…
Turkish journalist Aydın Taş found dead in Ankara
Istanbul, August 19, 2021 — Turkish authorities must swiftly and transparently investigate the death of journalist Aydın Taş, the Committee to Protect journalists said today. On August 8, police officers found Taş’ body at the Ankara office of the Crimean News Agency (QHA), a Turkish nationalist news agency where he worked as the Turkey director,…
Police obstruct journalists covering U.S. protests against police violence
As protests against police violence in the U.S. persisted, CPJ urged law enforcement in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and other cities to respect journalists’ rights and allow them to continue working and reporting the news. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, of which CPJ is a founding partner, documented at least 26 assaults, 24 arrests or detentions,…
Journalists released in Myanmar, Morocco, and Somalia
This week, CPJ called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow journalists to access detention facilities and Border Patrol activities along the U.S.-Mexico border. D.H.S. and Border Patrol officials have recently barred the press from entering detention facilities, citing privacy and COVID-19 concerns. In Morocco, press freedom advocates and journalists’ families told CPJ…
Police militarization (and wildfires) put U.S. journalists at risk
An increasingly militarized police presence at protests across the United States creates a dangerous reporting environment, journalists told CPJ. Those covering unrest in the U.S. are encouraged to consult CPJ’s new legal guide, which explains the rights of journalists when confronted by law enforcement while covering a protest or political event. Female journalists in Pakistan…
Remzi Bekirov
Remzi Bekirov, an ethnic Crimean Tatar journalist, is serving a 19-year prison sentence after being convicted on charges of terrorism and of “preparation for a violent seizure of power,” in connection with his reporting on alleged human rights abuses by Russian authorities in Ukraine’s Crimea. Russian authorities detained him in March 2019 in the southern…
Rustem Sheikhaliev
Rustem Sheikhaliev, a Crimean Tatar freelance journalist, is serving a 14-year prison sentence after being convicted on charges of terrorism and of “preparation for a violent seizure of power,” in connection with his reporting on alleged human rights abuses by Russian authorities in Ukraine’s Crimea. Russian authorities detained him in March 2019 in Simferopol, Crimea’s…
Osman Arifmemetov
Osman Arifmemetov, an ethnic Crimean Tatar freelance journalist, is serving a 14-year prison sentence after being convicted on charges of terrorism and of “preparation for a violent seizure of power,” in connection with his reporting on alleged human rights abuses by Russian authorities in Ukraine’s Crimea. Russian authorities detained him in March 2019 in the…