Statements
2019
CPJ calls on Jammu and Kashmir police to drop charges against journalist
New York, February 7, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Jammu and Kashmir police to immediately cease all legal proceedings against journalist Aasif Sultan and release him from jail after local news outlets reported that formal charges were filed against him today.
US court: Syria ‘planned, executed extrajudicial killing’ of Marie Colvin
New York, January 31, 2019–A U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C., late yesterday found the Syrian government culpable in the 2012 killing of Marie Colvin, a correspondent for the U.K. newspaper Sunday Times, and ordered the government to pay US$302.5 million to her family, AFP reported today. According to the opinion, the court found that…
CPJ concerned by report that UAE ‘Project Raven’ surveilled journalists
New York, January 30, 2019–At least four journalists were surveilled under Project Raven, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) cybersurveillance and hacking operation, Reuters reported today. The UAE hired former U.S. National Security Agency employees to assist in deploying a surveillance tool called Karma that exploited a vulnerability in the iPhone’s messaging application, according to a…
CPJ condemns conviction of human rights journalist Liu Feiyue in China
Taipei, January 29, 2019–The Suizhou Intermediate People’s Court in Hubei province today sentenced Liu Feiyue, founder of the human rights news website Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch, known in Chinese as Minsheng Guancha, to a five-year jail term for inciting state subversion, according to news reports.
Prominent journalist Chamorro flees Nicaragua after threats, newsroom raid
Miami, January 22, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed grave concern about news that Carlos Fernando Chamorro, one of Nicaragua’s most prominent independent journalists, has fled the country. Chamorro announced on Twitter on January 20 that he fled to Costa Rica due to threats against him from the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
As anti-Bashir protests continue, Sudan revokes credentials of foreign press
Washington, D.C. January 22, 2019–Sudanese authorities yesterday revoked the credentials of at least six journalists working for international news outlets, including Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, according to news reports. The outlets have been covering demonstrations against President Omar al-Bashir. Bashir is due to travel to Qatar today for his first international trip since the protests began…
Honduras court upholds journalist’s 10-year prison sentence for defamation
New York, January 15, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the Honduran Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a 2016 ruling sentencing journalist David Romero Ellner to 10 years in prison on criminal defamation charges.
Conviction obtained in 2002 murder of Indian journalist Ram Chandler Chaterpatti
Washington, D.C., January 11, 2019 – India’s Central Bureau of Investigation obtained convictions today in the 2002 murder of journalist Ram Chandler Chaterpatti, editor of the Hindi-language newspaper Poora Sach, according to news reports. The CBI court in Panchkula, Haryana state, convicted Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, head of the religious group Dera Sacha Sauda, and…
In Canada, police block media from covering break up of indigenous pipeline protest
New York, January 8, 2019–The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) yesterday blocked reporters from covering a pipeline protest near Houston, British Columbia, where police were due to dismantle camps set up by indigenous activists, according to reports.