Defamation

Dakar, August 20, 2024—Cameroonian journalist Samuel Bondjock has had to appear in court more than 30 times in almost 30 months to face criminal defamation charges that could put him in jail — even though the country’s media regulator dismissed the complaint against him in 2022. His next appearance in the capital Yaounde is scheduled…

Taipei, August 13, 2024—Mongolian authorities should not contest the appeal filed by Zarig news site founder and editor-in-chief Unurtsetseg Naran challenging her conviction on multiple charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. “The Mongolian government must halt its escalating use of lawfare against journalists and protect their rights to report,” said CPJ’s Asia…

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed an order requiring journalist Rahul Pandita to pay INR7.5 million (US$89,800) in defamation compensation to senior paramilitary officer Harpreet Singh Sidhu, according to news reports. This stay will remain in effect until the next hearing, scheduled for October 21. On March 5, an appellate court ordered Pandita,…

Dakar, June 20, 2024—Nigerien authorities must decriminalize defamation and ensure that the country’s cybercrime law does not unduly restrict the work of the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday. On June 7, Niger’s head of state Abdourahamane Tchiani, who overthrew the democratically elected president in July 2023, reintroduced prison sentences of one…

New York, June 11, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm on Tuesday that Pakistan’s east Punjab province hastily enacted a defamation law that is likely to greatly restrict press freedom, and the country’s Supreme Court issued notices to 34 media outlets in connection with their programming. On Saturday, June 8, acting Punjab…

Washington, D.C., June 11, 2024—A county judge’s order to Mississippi Today newspaper to turn over privileged documents in relation to a defamation lawsuit by the state’s former governor, Phil Bryant, against the nonprofit and three of its employees is a threat to press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Mississippi Today appealed on…

New York, May 17, 2024 — Angolan authorities should credibly investigate a break-in at the home of prominent journalist William Tonet and drop the criminal defamation charges he faces, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.  A man armed with a pistol broke into Tonet’s home in the capital, Luanda, at around 4 a.m. on…

New York, April 19, 2023—Belarusian authorities must immediately release journalist Aliaksandr Ignatsiuk, who was sentenced to six years imprisonment, and ensure that no members of the press are jailed for their work. On April 5, a court in the southern city of Stolin convicted Ignatsiuk of extortion, organizing or participating in gross violations of public…

New York, April 18, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tunisian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalist Mohamed Boughaleb after he was convicted by a Tunis court of defamation and sentenced to six months in prison on Wednesday. “The sentencing of journalist Mohamed Boughaleb to six months in prison over social media posts…

Lusaka, April 10, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday welcomed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing into law a bill that abolishes criminal defamation, and urged authorities to reform other problematic laws that threaten press freedom in the country. On April 3, Ramaphosa signed the Judicial Matters Amendment Act (2023), which includes…