Two British filmmakers on trial in Indonesia over visa regulations
New York, October 22, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the continued detention and trial of two British filmmakers who have been held in Indonesia since May 28. They are being held with the general prison population in a provincial jail in Batam, according to family members.
CPJ and VICE News call on Turkey to #FreeRasool
It has been more than seven weeks since Iraqi journalist Mohammed Ismael Rasool was arrested in Turkey alongside Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury, two British journalists from VICE News. But whereas Hanrahan and Pendlebury were released a week later, Rasool is still behind bars.
Chinese journalist accused of illegally acquiring state secrets
New York, October 19, 2015–Chinese authorities should immediately release an award-winning journalist who has been held since October 8 and accused of illegally acquiring state secrets, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Liu Wei is an investigative reporter for the Guangzhou-based newspaper Southern Metropolis.
Privatizing censorship in fight against extremism is risk to press freedom
“We’re stepping up our efforts to discredit ISIL’s propaganda, especially online,” President Barack Obama told delegates at the Leaders’ Summit on Countering Violent Extremism last month. The social media counter-offensive comes amid U.N. reports of a 70 percent increase in what it terms “foreign terrorist fighters”–citizens of U.N. member states who have left to join…
In Ethiopia, Zone 9 bloggers acquitted of terrorism charges
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…
In Ethiopia, drawn out Zone 9 trial serves to further punish bloggers
On Friday the Zone 9 bloggers are due to appear in court in Ethiopia for the 39th time since their arrest in April 2014. Endalk Chala, a co-founder of the group which is being honored with an International Press Freedom Award from CPJ this year, provides an overview of the drawn out trial and finds…
CPJ calls for charges to be dropped against Turkish editor
New York, October 14, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from prison of Bülent Keneş, editor-in-chief of the English-language daily Today’s Zaman, who was arrested on Friday on charges of insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Twitter. The daily reported today that the İstanbul 7th Penal Court of Peace ordered Keneş to…
Poor trade-off: Jailed journalists released into exile as Vietnam pushes for weapons deal
In September, Vietnamese blogger Ta Phong Tan was released after serving three years of a 10-year prison term and was immediately flown to Los Angeles. In October 2014 Tan’s colleague Nguyen Van Hai, whom she co-founded the Free Journalists Club with in 2007 and who was also imprisoned for his work, followed the same route.
Beyond the pardons, press freedom still under threat in Egypt
Today the Committee to Protect Journalists hosted a press conference for three Al-Jazeera journalists who have been convicted in absentia in Egypt. The journalists expressed solidarity with other members of the press who have been charged by the Egyptian government, and called on President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to intervene in their cases.
CPJ joins call for Morocco to end harassment of journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and three other human rights groups, in calling on the government of Morocco to stop its harassment of journalists and human rights defenders. The statement was delivered during the general debate at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on…