Statements by Year:
Ukraine extends ban on Russian news agencies, journalists
May 24, 2018 5:17 PM ET
New York, May 24, 2018--Ukrainian authorities today published a presidential decree that extends for three years sanctions imposed in 2017 against Russian state-funded news outlets and their journalists, as well as other foreign entities and individuals, and added the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti-Ukraine to the sanctions list,...
CPJ welcomes introduction of UK Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill
May 24, 2018 5:11 PM ET
May 24, 2018, London--The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the U.K.'s decision to pass into law legislation that addresses human rights abuses. The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill, which yesterday received Royal Assent to be passed into law, includes a "Magnitsky amendment" that empowers the U.K. to apply...
Court in Algeria sentences blogger to 10 years in prison
May 24, 2018 4:26 PM ET
New York, May 24, 2018--In a one-day trial today, a criminal court in Béjaïa sentenced Algerian blogger Marzoug Touati to 10 years in prison and fined him 50,000 Algerian dinar (US$427) for communicating with a foreign entity and inciting civil disobedience, Touati's lawyer, Salah Dabouz, told CPJ. The conviction...
Military court in Egypt sentences journalist to 10 years in jail
May 22, 2018 4:07 PM ET
New York, May 22, 2018--The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemned the sentencing today of Egyptian freelancer Ismail Alexandrani. A military court in Cairo found Alexandrani guilty of being a member of a banned organization and spreading false news, and sentenced the journalist to 10 years in prison, according...
Lesotho Constitutional Court declares criminal defamation unconstitutional
May 22, 2018 4:04 PM ET
New York, May 22, 2018--The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed yesterday's ruling by Lesotho's Constitutional Court that criminal defamation is unconstitutional, calling it a significant step toward safeguarding press freedom in the country....
CPJ welcomes positive development in Kyrgyzstan, calls for Askarov's release
May 18, 2018 4:48 PM ET
New York, May 18, 2018--The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev's decision to drop defamation charges he pressed last year against independent news website Zanoza and its journalists Naryn Idinov and Dina Maslova, and urged the country's new administration to release Azimjon Askarov, a...
Slovak police seize Czech investigative reporter's phone
May 16, 2018 2:41 PM ET
Berlin, May 16, 2018--The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Slovak authorities to respect the confidentiality of journalistic sources. Slovak police in Bratislava yesterday seized the mobile phone of Czech investigative reporter Pavla Holcova while questioning her for their investigation into the murder of her colleague, Slovak journalist...
Pakistani journalist appeals 22-year sentence on terrorism, defamation charges
May 10, 2018 5:26 PM ET
Washington D.C., May 10, 2018--The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Pakistani authorities to withdraw all charges against journalist Shabbir Siham, who is appealing a sentence of 22 years in prison and a 500,000 rupee (US$4,300) fine by an anti-terrorism court in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region....
Gambia declares criminal defamation unconstitutional, keeps some laws on sedition, false news
May 10, 2018 4:05 PM ET
Nairobi, May 10, 2018--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the Gambian Supreme Court's decision yesterday to declare criminal defamation unconstitutional, but is dismayed that segments of the country's criminal code on sedition and false news were upheld....
Uzbekistan releases remaining jailed journalists
May 7, 2018 1:19 PM ET
New York, May 7, 2018--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from custody today of Uzbek journalists Bobomurod Abdullaev and Hayot Nasriddinov, who had been on trial in Tashkent since March 5, 2018. With the pair's release, there are no journalists behind bars in Uzbekistan for the first...