Arrests, bans, shutdowns: No end in sight to Taliban media crackdown 3 years on
New York, August 14, 2024—As the Taliban mark the third anniversary of their return to power, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the group to halt their unprecedented destruction of Afghanistan’s media and brutal repression of journalists. “Grave injustices are the hallmark of the Taliban’s rule,” CPJ’s Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi said…
French journalist Sébastien Farcis leaves India after permit not renewed
June 20, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Indian authorities to immediately renew French reporter Sébastien Farcis’ journalism permit and cease using legal technicalities to prevent journalists from carrying out their duties. Farcis, a New Delhi-based South Asia correspondent for multiple French and Belgian news organizations, including Radio France Internationale, Radio France, and Libération, left…
Serbia court rules to extradite journalist Andrey Gnyot to Belarus
Update: A Serbian appeals court announced on September 11 that it has sent the extradition case of Belarusian filmmaker Andrey Gnyot for a third review to the Belgrade Higher Court. Gnyot told CPJ on September 12 that he expects the next hearing “will not happen earlier than a month,” saying that “the most dangerous thing” about the…
Taliban shuts down broadcasters Noor and Barya, seals Noor offices
New York, April 18, 2024—The Taliban must cease their relentless suppression of independent media in Afghanistan and allow private broadcasters Noor TV and Barya TV to resume operations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Tuesday, the Media Complaints and Rights Violations Commission banned the two broadcasters for violating “national and Islamic values,” without…
Mali’s media regulator bans outlets from covering political groups
Dakar, April 11, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Mali’s media regulator to lift its ban on political reporting in the country and allow journalists to cover the news without restrictions. On Thursday, the country’s High Authority for Communication (HAC) issued a directive that “invited all media” to “stop all broadcasting and publication” of coverage on…
Zimbabwean minister bans 2 journalists from covering government events
Lusaka, March 5, 2024—The minister of state for Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province must immediately rescind an order barring journalists Sydney Mubaiwa and Stephen Chadenga from covering government events, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Officials from the Zimbabwe Gender Commission, a statutory body concerned with gender equality, invited a group of local journalists to cover…
Russia bans Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as ‘undesirable’
New York, February 21, 2024—Russian authorities must stop harassing U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and cease obstructing the work of media outlets by labeling them as “undesirable,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Justice added RFE/RL to its register of “undesirable” organizations after the Russian general…
Russia bans freedom of expression group Article 19 as ‘undesirable’
New York, February 16, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Russian authorities to reconsider designating international freedom of expression group Article 19 as “undesirable” and cease using the country’s “undesirable” law to intimidate organizations that report on press freedom violations in the country. On January 23, the Russian general prosecutor’s office outlawed Article 19 by…
Egypt bans Mada Masr website for 6 months over report on Israel-Gaza war
New York, October 31, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) to revoke its six-month ban on the independent news website Mada Masr over its reporting on the Israel-Gaza war and to reverse its decision to refer the outlet for prosecution. On Sunday, the SCMR announced that, after…
Belarusian authorities label investigative media outlet Belarusian Investigative Center as ‘extremist’
New York, September 20, 2023—Belarusian authorities should stop using the country’s extremism legislation to silence independent reporting and let the media work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. At a closed-door hearing on September 15, the Belarusian Supreme Court labeled the Belarusian Investigative Center (BIC), an independent Czech Republic-based investigative media outlet, as…