Statements

Nairobi, July 29, 2020 — In response to a Somali court sentencing Goobjoog Media Group Deputy Director Abdiaziz Ahmed Gurbiye to six months in prison on false news charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “This conviction, in a case that should never have been entertained by the courts, is not only…

New York, July 25, 2020 – In response to the death of award-winning journalist and human rights activist Azimjon Askarov in a Kyrgyzstan prison today, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:  “Azimjon Askarov’s death is a direct result of Kyrgyzstan authorities’ disregard for his health and basic human rights. This is a…

Managua, Nicaragua, July 19, 2020–Honduran journalist David Romero Ellner died yesterday around 7 a.m. of respiratory failure after contracting COVID-19 while imprisoned at the Támara National Penitentiary, according to newspaper La Prensa. Authorities had transferred Romero to the National Cardiopulmonary Institute on July 5, according to newspaper El Heraldo. “We are shocked and saddened by…

Taipei, July 15, 2020 – In response to the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s denial of New York Times reporter Chris Buckley’s work permit, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Barring a New York Times journalist from working in Hong Kong violates the fundamental promise of press freedom given repeatedly to the Hong…

Washington, D.C., July 13, 2020 — In response to the death of Egyptian journalist Mohamed Monir after contracting COVID-19 in pretrial detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are extremely disturbed by journalist Mohamed Monir’s death today after he spent more than two weeks unnecessarily held in pretrial detention at Cairo’s…

Bangkok, July 10, 2020 – In response to a vote by a Philippine House of Representatives committee today to reject the renewal of the broadcasting franchise of ABS-CBN, the nation’s largest news organization, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Today’s congressional decision to reject ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal is an affront to Philippine…

Vilnius, Lithuania, July 6, 2020–In response to today’s conviction of Russian journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva on charges of “justifying terrorism,” over comments she made on liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy in November 2018, when she discussed a suicide bombing attack, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are relieved that Svetlana Prokopyeva will…

New York, July 2, 2020–Moroccan authorities must immediately stop harassing Omar Radi, investigative journalist at the news website Le Desk, and allow him to work and travel freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the National Brigade of Judicial Police in Casablanca summoned Radi to appear today in connection to an investigation into…

Istanbul, July 1, 2020 – In response to an announcement today that Turkey’s broadcast regulator, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), would suspend the Halk TV and TELE1 pro-opposition television stations for five days, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “The Radio and Television Supreme Council should not function as a…

Nairobi, June 30, 2020 – In response to a nationwide internet shutdown in Ethiopia and a police raid on the Oromia Media Network, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Ethiopian authorities’ persistence of old patterns of censorship in response to crises, when the public most needs access to timely news and information,…