New York, December 31, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo not to extradite Egide Mwemero, an exiled Burundian radio journalist who has been in custody since October 13, according to reports. Bob Rugurika, director of independent Burundian station Radio Publique Africaine where Mwemero also worked, told CPJ…
New York, December 31, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s convictions in the case of Ahmed Rajib Haider, a blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh in February 2013. A Dhaka court sentenced two students to death for murder, including Rezwanul Azad Rana, a fugitive who was charged in absentia and who was described by…
New York, December 27, 2015–Naji Jerf, editor-in-chief of the independent monthly Hentah and the maker of documentary films on the militant group Islamic State, was shot and killed in broad daylight today by unknown assailants with a silenced pistol in front of a building that houses Syrian opposition news outlets in downtown Gaziantep, Turkey, near…
New York, December 16, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Ahmed Mohamed al-Mousa, a member of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently. Al-Mousa was killed today by a group of masked men in Idlib, Syria, according to the citizen journalist group, which CPJ honored last month with its 2015 International Press Freedom Award.
New York, December 10, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the South African government to revise provisions in the proposed Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill that would limit journalists’ ability to work. Under the bill, journalists and members of the public could be prosecuted for possessing or disclosing state information, reports said.
New York, December 7, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to allow Dozhd TV to broadcast without fear of harassment. Today, prosecutors in Moscow carried out an audit of the independent station to check for purported violations of Russia’s laws on extremism, anti-terrorism, labor, and licensing, according to an official notice the…
New York, November 23, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Vatican to drop charges against Italian journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi. The journalists are due to face a trial Tuesday over claims they pressured a source to “obtain and publish confidential information” in their respective books alleging corruption, according to a statement…
New York, November 22, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Iranian authorities to release Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, who has been sentenced to an unspecified prison term, according to state media reports that provided no additional details. Last month, state media reported that Rezaian, a U.S. citizen who faces espionage and other…
New York, October 30, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Turkish authorities to investigate and bring to justice the murderers of two Syrian journalists found slain in an apartment in the city of Urfa in southeastern Turkey today. Ibrahim Abd al-Qader worked as the executive director and Fares Hamadi as head of the…
Nairobi, October 16, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the acquittal by an Ethiopian court today of four Zone 9 bloggers charged with terrorism. Abel Wabella, Atnaf Berhane, and Natnail Feleke, jailed since April 2014, are scheduled to be released today, while exiled blogger Soleyana S. Gebremichael was acquitted in absentia, news reports said. A…