Detained

Lusaka, April 8, 2025—Zimbabwean authorities should stop their victimization of broadcast journalist Blessed Mhlanga, who, after 43 days in jail, was denied bail for the third time on Monday, and must ensure that charges against him are dropped immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Mhlanga, a journalist for privately owned Heart and Soul Television,…

Dakar, April 4, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Burkina Faso to release recently detained journalists Guézouma Sanogo, Boukari Ouoba, and Luc Pagbelguem after they appeared in military uniform in videos posted on social media. “The video showing detained Burkinabe journalists Guézouma Sanogo, Boukari Ouoba, and Luc Pagbelguem wearing military uniforms reinforces…

Istanbul, April 2, 2025—In the weeks since the March 19 detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a potential challenger to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the next presidential race, along with other members of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), civil unrest has erupted in western Turkey. The government, controlled by Erdoğan’s Justice and…

New York, April 2, 2025— Belarusian authorities should immediately release journalist Anatol Sanatsenka, who was sentenced to 15 days of administrative detention on March 31 on accusations of distributing “extremist” content, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday. “Belarusian authorities continue to target members of the press in a reign of terror that has plagued the country…

In a letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Mozambique’s President Daniel Francisco Chapo to take decisive steps to ensure that the media can operate without fear of reprisal. The letter urges Chapo, who was inaugurated January 2025 following a disputed election last year, to act swiftly in providing the whereabouts of  two missing journalists—Ibraimo Mbaruco, who…

Lusaka, March 27, 2025—“I have learnt that free speech, free talk, is not free,” Zimbabwean journalist Blessed Mhlanga wrote in a letter from prison, which was made public on February 28, his fourth day behind bars. Mhlanga, who works with the privately owned broadcaster Heart and Soul TV, was arrested on February 24 and charged with…

Editor’s Note: On 28 March, an Islamabad court granted Waheed Murad bail and he was released directly from court on a surety bond of 20,000 rupees (US$71), his lawyer Imaan Mazari told CPJ. New York, March 27, 2025—Pakistani authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Waheed Murad, who was taken away by masked men who…

Beirut, March 25, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the masked Israeli settlers who assaulted Palestinian documentary film director Hamdan Ballal and the Israeli soldiers who arrested him in the occupied West Bank on Monday to be held to account. Ballal, who was freed on Tuesday, was one of four co-directors of “No Other…

Istanbul, March 24, 2025—Turkish authorities should release the journalists taken into police custody during widespread protests and end hostile behavior towards the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Protests erupted and grew in multiple cities across Turkey following the government crackdown on Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was due to be selected as…

The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday joined four press freedom organizations in urging Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and its Department of Justice to end the detention of community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been behind bars for more than five years. The groups said in a joint statement, led by CPJ, that the 26-year-old…