Statements
2018
Belarus cuts access to independent news website Charter97
New York, February 1, 2018– The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Belarusian Ministry of Information to unblock access to the independent news website Charter 97. Natalya Radina, the site’s editor-in-chief, told CPJ today that access to the site has been blocked in Belarus since January 24, and that from today, the web…
India charges photojournalist arrested in Kashmir in September with sedition, other crimes
New York, January 18, 2018–India’s National Investigation Agency today charged photojournalist Kamran Yousuf with criminal conspiracy, attempting to wage war against India, and sedition, according to news reports. Authorities charged Yousuf alongside 12 others accused of anti-state activities, reports said. Yousuf, a freelancer working in the Jammu and Kashmir region, who contributes to the daily…
Guatemala arrests lawmaker accused of plotting 2 journalists’ murders
New York, January 16, 2018–The arrest of a lawmaker accused of plotting the murders of two journalists in 2015 is an important step against impunity in Guatemala, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Guatemalan authorities arrested Congressman Julio Juárez Ramírez, who allegedly ordered the attack that killed Danilo López and Federico Salazar, near his…
Philippines revokes registration of news website Rappler
Washington, D.C., January 15, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned an order by the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission to revoke the certificate of incorporation of the critical news website Rappler, which effectively required it to close down.
Azerbaijani court sentences local journalist to six years in prison
New York, January 12, 2018–A district court in Azerbaijan today convicted veteran investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarli on charges of illegally crossing the border, resisting police arrest, and contraband, and sentenced him to six years in prison, media reported.
Appeal hearing for Niger journalist postponed
New York, January 9, 2018–An appeals court in Niger’s capital, Niamey, yesterday postponed a hearing for Baba Alpha until March 12, the broadcast journalist’s lawyer, Amadou Boubacar Mossi, told CPJ. Alpha, a reporter for the privately owned radio and television news agency Bonferey, is serving a two-year sentence for using false documents, in what his…
Myanmar must free Reuters journalists, drop investigation
Washington, D.C., January 8, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Myanmar authorities to cease all legal proceedings and release from jail two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, whose work involved reporting on conflict-ridden Rakhine state. The two were arrested December 12 on suspicions of violating Myanmar’s colonial-era Official Secrets Act,…