In post-election Venezuela, journalist jailings reach record high, media goes underground
Shortly after Venezuela’s disputed presidential election in July, security agents arrested journalist Ana Carolina Guaita and then contacted her family to make a deal. They offered to release Guaita if her mother, Xiomara Barreto, who worked on the opposition campaign to defeat President Nicolás Maduro, turned herself in. Barreto, who is in hiding, rejected the…
Guinea Bissau president swears at journalist as media freedom declines
Amid political tension in Guinea-Bissau following President Umaro Sissoco Embaló’s dissolution of parliament in December, it was only natural for radio journalist Ussumane Mané to ask the West African leader a question that was on everyone’s lips: will there be a presidential election this year? Embaló, a former army general who came to power on…
U.S. Election: How journalists can report safely
The U.S. election is less than 100 days away, with the Democratic National Convention next week marking a key news moment. As journalists are frequently at risk of being attacked, harassed, and detained while covering political events, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has engaged in a comprehensive effort to ensure that independent journalists and…
CPJ urges Bangladesh to protect journalists as protests oust PM
New York, August 5, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the latest attacks on dozens of journalists covering anti-government protests in Bangladesh and calls on the country’s interim government to urgently ensure the safety of the media following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation on Monday. “All sides in Bangladesh must ensure that journalists can report…
Indian journalists’ 2024 election concerns: political violence, trolling, device hacking
As the scorching summer peaks this year, India’s political landscape is coming to a boil. From April 19 until June 1, the world’s biggest democracy will hold the world’s biggest election, which the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been in power since 2014, is expected to win….
‘Back to the dark ages’: Editor Ataf Mohamed on Sudan’s wartime communications blackout
For the last six weeks, Sudan has been almost totally cut off from the world. Since early February, there has been an internet and telecommunications blackout in the country, where a war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed more than 13,000, displaced millions, and threatens to cause widespread…
CPJ calls on Senegal’s presidential candidates for press freedom reforms as 5 journalists freed
Dakar, March 19, 2024—Presidential candidates in Senegal’s elections on Sunday should commit to decriminalizing journalism and dropping all legal proceedings against journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Senegalese are due to vote on March 24, with 19 candidates vying to lead the country, after a last-minute delay to the poll in February triggered protests. The current president, Macky Sall,…
India elections 2024: Journalist safety guide
In 2024, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking re-election for a third consecutive five-year term. The upcoming general elections in April 2024 will see India’s vast electorate, consisting of over 600 million people, exercising their right to vote. CPJ’s Emergencies Response Team (ERT) has compiled a safety guide for journalists covering India’s election….
Safety resources for covering protests in Senegal
You can download these safety cards as images or PDFs in English and français. As Senegalese security forces sought to quell protests in February after the postponement of the presidential election, CPJ documented how at least 25 journalists reporting in the capital, Dakar, were physically attacked, briefly detained, targeted with tear gas, or harassed by police. In response, CPJ has…
Record number of journalists in Senegal’s jails amid political turmoil
Senegalese reporter Ndèye Maty Niang, also known as Maty Sarr Niang, would have likely jumped at the chance to report on the political crisis gripping her country since the president postponed elections in early February. But Niang can’t cover the news – she’s in a women’s prison awaiting trial. She’s not alone: Niang is one…