Sierra Leone journalist Mahmud Tim Kargbo charged over police reporting
Abuja, December 18, 2020 — Sierra Leone authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalist Mahmud Tim Kargbo and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 4, a magistrate court in the capital, Freetown, charged Kargbo with sharing “insulting” and “scurrilous” information via Facebook and WhatsApp about the…
South Sudan journalist Bullen Alexander Bala detained for 4 days, charged
On October 16, 2020, agents of South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS) arrested Bullen Alexander Bala, a reporter with the privately owned Juba Monitor newspaper, as he worked to report on student protests at the University of Juba, according to an Eye Radio report published on October 17 and an individual familiar with the arrest…
Hong Kong police charge 2 reporters with obstruction over coverage of May protests
In November 2020, Hong Kong police criminally charged two journalists over their coverage of protests the previous May, according to news reports. On November 3, police charged student journalist Nelson Tang with “obstructing police” and “resisting arrest,” according to news reports and a statement from the Hong Kong Baptist University Students’ Union Editorial Board, a…
Egyptian blogger Mohamed Oxygen’s detention extended as authorities file new charge
New York, November 11, 2020 – Egyptian authorities must immediately release blogger Mohamed Ibrahim, also known as Mohamed Oxygen, and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Ibrahim has been held in pretrial detention since September 21, 2019, when he was arrested and charged with membership of a banned group,…
Canadian police block reporting on Indigenous land demonstrations
On September 2, 2020, police in Ontario criminally charged Indigenous journalist Karl Dockstader in relation to his reporting on a campaign to oppose a planned housing development in the province’s Haldimand County, he told CPJ by phone. Charges against Dockstader and at least two other Indigenous people who were documenting the campaign were pending in…
Los Angeles police arrest, charge 2 reporters documenting social justice protest
Washington, D.C., November 5, 2020—The Los Angeles Police Department should drop all charges against reporters Vishal Singh and Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, and refrain from arresting members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, around 7:30 p.m., the LAPD announced a dispersal order in response to Black Lives Matter protests near the intersection…
Al-Manassa editor Nora Younis on censorship in Egypt
This summer, Egyptian authorities raided Al-Manassa for the first time since the independent news website was established in 2016. News reports describe at least six police officers storming the outlet’s only office in Cairo, confiscating a laptop, and arresting Nora Younis, the editor-in-chief. The following day, the public prosecutor’s office charged her with multiple unfounded…
Argentine court charges journalist Daniel Santoro with illicit association, espionage
New York, October 21, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Argentine authorities to drop criminal charges against journalist Daniel Santoro and ensure criminal investigations do not threaten journalists’ ability to work. In a decision released this morning, Judge Alejo Ramos Padilla of the Federal Court of Dolores, in Buenos Aires province,…
Journalist Pham Doan Trang arrested on anti-state charges in Vietnam
Bangkok, October 7, 2020 – Vietnamese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Pham Doan Trang and drop anti-state charges against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Trang, a prominent journalist who contributes regularly to several independent news sites, was arrested just before midnight yesterday in Ho Chi Minh City, according to news reports….
Journalist April Ehrlich facing criminal charges over reporting on homelessness in Oregon
Washington, D.C., September 25, 2020 —The Medford Police Department in southwest Oregon should drop all charges against journalist April Ehrlich, and refrain from filing criminal charges against members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the morning of September 22, Medford police arrested Ehrlich, a reporter for National Public Radio affiliate…