Russia bans exiled outlet Dozhd TV as ‘undesirable’
New York, July 26, 2023—Russian authorities should stop attempting to silence the exiled broadcaster Dozhd TV (TV Rain) and cease using the country’s “undesirable organization” law to intimidate independent media and their audiences, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Tuesday, July 25, the Russian general prosecutor’s office outlawed SIA TV Rain and TVR…
CPJ urges swift probe into Polish police over forcible removal of journalist from protest
Berlin, July 21, 2023 — Polish authorities should investigate the forcible removal by police of freelance photojournalist Maciej Piasecki from a recent climate protest, and allow journalists to work without interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. During a climate protest in Warsaw on Friday, July 14, as police attempted to subdue and detain…
Tajikistan bans Pamir Daily News as ‘extremist organization’
Stockholm, July 20, 2023 – In response to the July 19 announcement that the Supreme Court of Tajikistan banned the independent news website Pamir Daily News and classified it as an “extremist organization,” the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “Tajik authorities’ move to ban Pamir Daily News and smear it…
Cambodia blocks websites, social media accounts of 3 outlets ahead of Sunday election
Bangkok, July 20, 2023—Cambodia’s government should lift its censorship orders against three news organizations and allow the media to report freely on the July 23 general elections without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. In a July 12 letter, the Telecommunications Regulator of Cambodia ordered local internet service providers (ISPs) to…
M23 rebels ban radio show by displaced Congolese journalists
Kinshasa, July 19, 2023 – Leaders of the M23 rebel movement occupying Rutshuru in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, should immediately reverse the latest ban on “Sauti ya Wahami,” a radio show produced by displaced journalists, and on Top Congo FM’s programming, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. In a July…
CPJ urges Bangladeshi authorities to lift shutdown on 2 social media platforms
New York, July 12, 2023 – Two Bangladeshi social media outlets shuttered by authorities must be allowed to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday, amid mounting indications of a pre-election campaign to silence critical voices. On Sunday, June 25, the Chittagong district administration in southeast Bangladesh sealed the offices of the privately…
Senegalese broadcaster Walf TV suspended for 1 month, threatened with permanent license revocation
On June 1, 2023, Senegalese Minister of Communication, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy Moussa Bocar Thiam ordered a 30-day suspension of Walf TV, the television broadcast service of the privately owned media group Wal Fadjri, over its coverage of ongoing countrywide protests. Authorities cut off Walf TV’s broadcast signal on June 1 and restored broadcasts on…
Mahoney: The lingering legacy of China’s COVID-19 censorship
One time she drew flowers on a letter to her ailing mother from her Chinese prison cell. Another time it was pictures of penguins. The drawings were a good sign. Zhang Zhan, the journalist jailed for her COVID-19 reporting from Wuhan, is maybe doing better. The 39-year-old Shanghai lawyer-turned social media reporter was one of…
In Marcos Jr.’s Philippines, milder tone belies harsh media reality
At a waterfront courthouse in Tacloban City, a long-time hotbed of communist insurgency in the Philippines’ Eastern Visayas island region, heavily armed guards were escorting jailed journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio to trial. The picturesque setting belied the harsh reality of the April 17 hearing. Cumpio could be put behind bars for life if found guilty…
In Turkey, cautious optimism that tough election could be good for press freedom
Turkey’s powerful Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) are facing one of the toughest challenges of their two decades in office. Polls ahead of the country’s May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections suggest that the president and his long-ruling party could lose to the opposition coalition of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of…