DRC journalist Blaise Mabala detained on insult charge; Stanis Bujakara Tshiamala remains jailed
Kinshasa, January 24, 2024—Authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo should immediately release journalists Blaise Mabala and Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala, drop legal proceedings against them, and reform the country’s laws to ensure journalism is not criminalized, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On December 29, 2023, police officers arrested Mabala at a provincial police…
Pegasus spyware used to target Togolese journalists Loïc Lawson and Anani Sossou
New York, January 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by findings that the phones of Togolese journalists Loïc Lawson and Anani Sossou were infected with Pegasus spyware in 2021, and repeats its calls for an immediate moratorium on the use of such surveillance technologies and for legal proceedings against the journalists to be…
Taliban detains Ehsan Akbari, Afghan journalist with Japan’s Kyodo News
New York, January 22, 2024—Taliban authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Afghan journalist Ehsan Akbari and stop harassing and detaining members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On January 17, the Taliban’s Government Media Information Center (GMIC) summoned Akbari, the assistant bureau chief of Japanese media outlet Kyodo…
CPJ calls for immediate release of Sudanese journalist Ogail Ahmed Naime
New York, January 19, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary group, arrested journalist Ogail Ahmed Naime and calls for his immediate release. On Thursday, January 18, RSF soldiers arrested Naime, a freelance journalist, from his home in Khartoum, according to news reports. As…
Iranian journalist Hasan Abbasi rearrested and held incommunicado
Washington, D.C., January 4, 2024—Iranian authorities should immediately release journalist Hasan Abbasi, whose whereabouts are unknown since his arrest, and drop any charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Tuesday, security forces arrested Abbasi, a freelance investigative reporter, in a public location in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas in…
Al-Jazeera journalist Samir Sassi arrested on undisclosed charges in Tunisia
New York, January 4, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that Tunisian authorities arrested journalist Samir Sassi and calls for his immediate and unconditional release. On Wednesday, January 3, police raided and searched the home of Sassi, a reporter at Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera, in the capital Tunis and arrested him, according to…
South African journalist Thomo Nkgadima charged with intimidation after photographing mayor’s home
Lusaka, January 3, 2024—South African authorities should drop criminal trespass and intimidation charges against freelance journalist Thomo Nkgadima and ensure that members of the press do not face reprisal for reporting issues of public interest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On December 24, 2023, police in Fetakgomo Tubatse Municipality in South Africa’s northern…
Belarusian authorities detain at least two journalists in Mahilou
Paris, December 19, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Belarusian authorities to disclose the reason for the recent detention of journalist Ales Sabaleuski and shed light on the whereabouts of journalist Aliaksei Batsiukou. “The detention of journalist Ales Sabaleuski and the disappearance of journalist Aliaksei Batsiukou in the Belarusian city of Mahilou is especially…
Dawei Watch journalists Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo arrested in Myanmar
Bangkok, December 18, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the recent arrest of two journalists with Myanmar news outlet Dawei Watch and calls on the country’s military regime to release them immediately and unconditionally. The journalists, Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo, were arrested at their homes in the coastal town of Myeik around…
CPJ calls for release of Al-Araby Al-Jadeed Gaza correspondent Diaa Al-Kahlout
Beirut, December 7, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that Israeli authorities arrested journalist Diaa Al-Kahlout in Gaza along with members of his family, and calls for his immediate release. Palestinian journalist Diaa Al-Kahlout, chief bureau correspondent for the Qatari-funded London-based pan-Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, was arrested from the Al-Souk area in…