Statements

As Syria transitions to a new government following the December 8 toppling of Bashar al-Assad, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to take decisive action to ensure the safety of all journalists and hold accountable those responsible for the killing, imprisonment, and silencing of members of the media during the country’s 13-year civil…

New York, November 13, 2024—Ahead of their November 18 meeting, CPJ calls on European Union foreign ministers to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement in light of Israel’s unprecedented attack on press freedom and ongoing abuses of international law. The agreement sets out the EU’s legal and institutional framework for political dialogue and economic cooperation with…

New York, November 6, 2024 – The United States was founded with press freedom as a cornerstone of its democracy. As the country prepares for a transition of power, following the election of Donald J. Trump as the 47th president of the United States, the board of directors at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)…

The Committee to Protect Journalist and 18 other civil society organizations called on Guatemalan authorities to respect the independence of the judiciary at an October 18 hearing over the release of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora from pre-trial detention. The statement highlights a “deeply troubling trend” of criminalizing and intimidating human rights defenders, including Judge Rodolfo…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 22 other organizations advocating for press freedom on Monday in condemning Georgia’s Family Values Bill that would ban broadcasters from reporting on LGBTQ+ issues. The bill would fine broadcasters who air content that promotes LGBTQ+ gender identification and relationships. Georgian press freedom advocates say state authorities often use legislation…

CPJ joined 10 other civil society organizations on Wednesday in urging the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to further pressure Azerbaijan over its “grave human rights situation” and to stop its crackdown on critical voices. In January, PACE voted to exclude Azerbaijan’s delegation because the country had not “fulfilled major commitments” on…

Washington, D.C., September 24, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to release Alaa Abdelfattah, a prominent Egyptian-British blogger and writer, upon completion of his five-year prison sentence this Sunday, September 29. Abdelfattah was arrested on September 28, 2019, and in December 2021, he was sentenced to five years in prison, starting from…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined the 10 other members of Brazil’s Coalition in Defense of Journalism in condemning the August 12 sentencing of journalist Ricardo Antunes to seven years in prison for slander, libel, and defamation after he published five blog posts about a businessman. The posts dealt with an investigation into an alleged…

Mexico City, September 3, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists and #KeepItOn coalition partners have called on Nicolás Maduro’s government to stop imposing internet shutdowns and blocking essential communication platforms in Venezuela in response to post-election protests. After Maduro was declared the winner of the July 28 presidential contest, authorities shut down the internet and blocked…

Taipei, September 2, 2024—Hong Kong authorities are criminalizing normal journalistic work with the “openly political” conviction of two editors from the shuttered news portal Stand News for subversion, the Committee to Protect Journalists and four other rights groups said. By weaponizing the legal system against journalists, China has ruthlessly reneged on guarantees given to Hong…