Ethiopia releases five journalists, drops all charges against them
Nairobi, July 8, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from prison today of two bloggers affiliated with the independent Ethiopian collective Zone 9 and three other journalists. All charges have been dropped against them, according to exiled Ethiopian journalists who spoke to CPJ and a report by the pro-government Fana Radio. The journalists–editor…
Erdoğan vs the press: Insult law used to silence president’s critics
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is known for being intolerant of critics. During his third term as prime minister, Turkey was the leading jailer of journalists in the world with more than 60 behind bars at the height of the crackdown in 2012. Most of those have been released, but the press faces another threat–Article 299…
In Turkey, jailed journalist given new prison term as third investigation begins
Istanbul, July 1, 2015–Turkish journalist Mehmet Baransu was handed a 10-month jail sentence by an Istanbul court on June 30 for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Twitter, according to reports. Baransu, a columnist and correspondent for the privately owned daily Taraf, is already in prison while authorities investigate him on separate charges, his lawyer…
Zimbabwean journalist to appeal jail term over unregistered newspaper
New York, June 30, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to immediately release Zimbabwean journalist Patrick Chitongo who, according to reports, was sentenced to one year in prison on June 23 for publishing an unregistered newspaper.
Swaziland releases Bheki Makhubu after 15 months in jail
New York, June 30, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s decision by the Swaziland Supreme Court to release from prison Bheki Makhubu, the editor of The Nation, who has been in jail since March 2014 along with human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, after the crown prosecution said it would not defend an appeal against…
Editor of Chinese website, missing for a month, arrested on anti-state charges
New York, June 25, 2015–The editor of a Chinese human rights news website was formally arrested June 19 on charges of “inciting subversion of state power,” according to news reports. Over a month ago, 60-year-old Liu Xinglian, an editor of Rose China and the secretary-general of Rose Group, a Hubei province-based human rights organization that…
Radio Free Asia reporter’s brothers in China face anti-state charges
This week, Washington D.C.-based Uighur journalist Shohret Hoshur, sent CPJ a message saying that on May 28 charges had finally been brought against two of his brothers, Shawket and Rexim, who have been detained since August. Hoshur, who works for the U.S.-government funded Radio Free Asia (RFA), is convinced they are being put on trial…
Turkish editor given suspended prison term for insulting Erdoğan on Twitter
New York, June 19, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a suspended prison term given to the editor of the English-language Turkish daily Today’s Zaman on Wednesday on charges of insulting then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a July 2014 tweet.