Cybercrime Law

18 results arranged by date

New Jordanian cybercrime law criminalizes ‘fake news’ online

Beirut, August 15, 2023—In response to Jordanian authorities passing a new cybercrime law that threatens press freedom online, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “The new cybercrime law approved by Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein is alarming, and could see journalists facing harsh prison terms and huge fines over…

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Dorica Mtenje

Malawi police detain, charge journalist Dorica Mtenje over story she did not write

Lusaka, Zambia, February 22, 2023—Malawian authorities should immediately drop defamation and cyber-related charges against Maravi Post journalist Dorica Mtenje and allow her to report free from legal harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On February 8, police in the capital Lilongwe summoned Mtenje via phone to appear the following day for questioning over…

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Imran Hossain Titu

Bangladeshi journalist Imran Hossain Titu investigated under Digital Security Act

On April 5, 2022, the Barisal Cyber Tribunal, which adjudicates alleged cybercrime offenses in Bangladesh’s southern Barisal division, accepted a complaint against Imran Hossain Titu, the Barguna district correspondent for privately owned broadcaster Ekattor TV, for allegedly violating the Digital Security Act, according to a statement by the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, a local…

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CPJ welcomes Nigerian journalist Luka Binniyat’s release on bail, calls for end to prosecution

Abuja, February 4, 2022 — In response to the release on bail Thursday of Luka Binniyat, a Nigerian freelance reporter for the U.S.-based news outlet The Epoch Times, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for the charges against him to be dropped: “While Nigerian journalist Luka Binniyat’s release on bail is…

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Tanzania police arrest cartoonist, journalists on cybercrime and illegal assembly allegations

Nairobi, October 7, 2021—Tanzanian authorities should unconditionally release cartoonist Opptertus John Fwema, and drop investigations into Mgawe TV journalist Harold Shemsanga and the media outlet’s owner, Ernest Mgawe, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 24, police arrested Fwema at his home in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, and have since detained…

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#HoldTheLine Coalition calls for new cyber libel charge to be dropped and pressure ceased against Maria Ressa

The #HoldTheLine Coalition condemns new legal threats against Rappler founder and CEO Maria Ressa and calls for a second, trumped-up criminal cyber libel charge to be dropped. Ressa posted bail after the new arrest warrant was filed on November 27, and will appear in court on Friday, December 4. The new cyber libel case was…

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Niger journalist Samira Sabou jailed, charged with cybercrime over Facebook post

New York, June 12, 2020 — Authorities in Niger should immediately release journalist Samira Ibrahim Sabou and drop all charges against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities arrested Sabou, editor with the privately owned Niger Search news website and manager of the Mides-Niger news website, on June 10 after she responded to…

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Nigerian journalist held under cybercrime act for COVID-19 coverage

Abuja, June 10, 2020 – Nigerian authorities should immediately release journalist Saint Mienpamo Onitsha, drop all charges against him, and reform the country’s cybercrime act to ensure it is not used to prosecute the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 4, officers with Nigeria’s Department of State Services detained Onitsha, founder…

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Security forces are seen in Niamey, Niger, on March 15, 2020. Police recently arrested journalist Kaka Touda Mamane Goni over his posts on social media about the COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP/Boureima Hama)

Journalist Kaka Touda Mamane Goni arrested in Niger over COVID-19 report

New York, March 24, 2020 — Authorities in Niger should immediately release journalist Kaka Touda Mamane Goni and halt legal proceedings against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Ugandan police officers are seen in Kampala on April 23, 2019. Police recently arrested Joseph Kabuleta for allegedly posting

Ugandan commentator arrested over Facebook post critical of president

On July 12, 2019, plainclothes police in Kireka, a suburb of Kampala, Uganda’s capital, arrested Joseph Kabuleta, a local minister and former reporter who regularly posts political commentary on social media, for allegedly posting “offensive communication against the person of the President” online, according to a July 12 police statement reviewed by CPJ and Fred…

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