Police open criminal investigation into Indian journalist Vishweshwar Bhat
On May 26, 2019, Bengaluru police opened a criminal investigation into Vishweshwar Bhat, the editor-in-chief of privately owned Kannada-language newspaper Vishwavani, after a complaint was filed against him by a member of the state’s ruling Janata Dal (Secular) party, according to Indian news portal The News Minute.
Polish court bans reporter Anna Wilk from journalism for 3 years in criminal libel suit
Berlin, June 4, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the conviction and sentence of journalist Anna Wilk in a criminal libel lawsuit in which she was sentenced on first instance for a fine and a three-year ban on practicing journalism.
Results of India’s election climate for journalist safety are in
Journalists across India are at risk of physical and digital attack in retaliation for their reporting. And during election campaigns, these dangers can increase. As the country went to the polls in recent weeks, CPJ’s India correspondent Kunal Majumder traveled to Guwahati, Imphal, Agartala, Raipur, Bijapur, and Hyderabad to present CPJ’s election safety kit to…
Peruvian judge orders assets freeze for Ojo Público, 2 journalists in defamation case
Bogotá, Colombia, April 29, 2019– A Peruvian court has ordered assets belonging to the independent news website Ojo Público, its executive director Óscar Castilla, and La República investigative reporter Edmundo Cruz, to be frozen while a criminal defamation complaint against them is heard, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on…
Myanmar military sues The Irrawaddy for criminal defamation over conflict coverage
Bangkok, April 25, 2019 — Myanmar’s military should drop its criminal defamation case against independent news outlet The Irrawaddy over its coverage of the conflict in the country’s Rakhine state, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Offices of independent Belarusian TV station Belsat raided in slander case
New York, April 11, 2019 — Belarusian authorities should immediately drop their criminal slander investigation of independent online television station Belsat and allow the broadcaster’s reporters and staff to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Italy’s Matteo Salvini pursues criminal defamation against journalist Roberto Saviano
Berlin, March 29, 2019 — The Italian interior minister, Matteo Salvini, should immediately drop criminal defamation charges against freelance investigative journalist and author Roberto Saviano, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Q&A: Rodney Sieh on how Liberia’s press is faring under Weah presidency
Rodney Sieh, editor-in-chief and publisher of Liberian investigative outlet FrontPageAfrica, knows first-hand the harassment and risks critical journalists in his country face. In 2013, CPJ documented how he was sentenced to prison over unpaid fines in a criminal defamation case.
Honduras court upholds journalist’s 10-year prison sentence for defamation
New York, January 15, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the Honduran Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a 2016 ruling sentencing journalist David Romero Ellner to 10 years in prison on criminal defamation charges.