Detained

1706 results arranged by date

A row of Pakistani national flags line a street in Islamabad on April 18, 2026. Authorities have opened a cybercrime case against Islamabad-based journalist Muhammad Bilal Ghauri over his social media commentary. (Photo: AFP/Farooq Naeem)

Pakistan detains journalist Muhammad Bilal Ghauri over commentary on security appointment

New York, September 9, 2026—Pakistani authorities must immediately release independent journalist Muhammad Bilal Ghauri and drop the cybercrime case filed against him over his commentary about the appointment of a senior counterterrorism official, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Ghauri, who covers news via his popular YouTube channel, was reported missing by his family…

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CPJ condemns 15-year prison sentence handed down by Russian authorities to retired Ukrainian journalist Iryna Levchenko 

Berlin, September 8, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the harsh 15-year prison sentence handed down by Russian occupation authorities to retired Ukrainian journalist Iryna Levchenko on charges of “espionage,” and calls for her immediate and unconditional release. The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Regional Court said on September 4 it had sentenced Levchenko, who is 64 and…

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Journalist Oya Lale Arslan arrested in Turkey on suspicion of ‘spreading disinformation’

Istanbul, September 8, 2026—Turkish authorities must immediately release arrested journalist Oya Lale Arslan and stop weaponizing the law against independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday.  Arslan, a freelance journalist with over 118,000 followers on X and 151,000 on YouTube where she posts under the name Lale Özan Arslan, was detained on…

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Journalist Abdiqani Hussein Abokor, also known as Baylood, interviews the poet Ismail Yusuf Abdi, who recites a poem warning that Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi risks being cursed.

Somaliland journalist detained without charge after interviewing poet

New York, September 7, 2026–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the release of Somali journalist Abdiqani Hussein Abokor, also known as Baylood, who has been held without charge since August 29 in the breakaway region of Somaliland after interviewing a poet. “Abdiqani Hussein Abokor joins a long list of journalists in Somaliland who have…

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Taliban shut down Rah-e-Farda TV after coverage of crackdown on Shiite minority

New York, September 7, 2026—Taliban authorities must allow independent broadcaster Rah-e-Farda TV to resume operations, immediately release its owner, Salman Akhlaqi, and end their crackdown on news outlets serving Afghanistan’s persecuted Shiite Hazara community, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday. On September 6, Taliban security forces raided Rah-e-Farda TV’s office in the capital…

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Sudanese protester

CPJ, partners call on Sudan’s RSF to release 3 female journalists detained in Darfur

The Committee to Protect Journalists was joined Monday by 16 civil society organizations in calling on the Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to immediately release Nyala Radio journalists Ishraqah Abdulrahman, Zahraa Muhammad Al-Hassan, and Mawahib Ibrahim, who have been detained in South Darfur since February 28. CPJ and its partners expressed alarm over…

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Journalist İrem Delice arrested in Turkey on suspicion of ‘spreading disinformation’

Istanbul, September 2, 2026—Turkish authorities should immediately release journalist İrem Delice, who was arrested on August 28 on suspicion of “spreading disinformation,” and repeal the disinformation law, which is being used all too often to criminalise journalism and silence reporting in Turkey, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Delice and three other staff members from…

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Yoweri Museveni

Ugandan journalist Remmy Asiteza detained on `fake news’ charges

Nairobi, August 27, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ugandan authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalist Remmy Asiteza, who has been charged with publishing “fake news” in connection to his coverage of corruption allegations in the ministry of the presidency. Asiteza was arrested on August 13 in the capital, Kampala, and appeared in…

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CPJ renews call for Kyrgyzstan to drop charges against journalist Makhabat Tajibek kyzy as retrial begins

London, August 24, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists reiterates its call for authorities in Kyrgyzstan to withdraw criminal charges against Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, director of anti-corruption investigative outlets Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese, ahead of her retrial, which is scheduled to begin in Bishkek on Tuesday. Tajibek kyzy spent more than two years in…

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French journalists Sebastian Perez Pezzani (left) and Gaël Mocaër (right) were arrested July 27 while filming a travel adventure documentary in northern Togo. (Screenshots: Brut/YouTube; Gael Mocaer/YouTube; Komi Mawufemo/Facebook)

2 French journalists, Togolese fixer detained 26 days following arrest while documentary filming in northern Togo

Dakar, August 21, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Togolese authorities to drop the charges against French journalists Sebastian Perez Pezzani and Gaël Mocaër, and Togolese fixer Komi Mawufemo Vedomey, and to release Mocaër and Vedomey who have spent 26 days in detention since they were arrested July 27 while filming a documentary in northern Togo. On August 20, an investigative…

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