Prominent Syrian writer Yousph arrested in northeastern Syria, held for five days
Syrian writer Souleman Yousph, a contributor to several media outlets, including the Assyrian news website Ankawa, the independent Arabic news website Elaph, and the political and cultural online secular magazine Ahewar, was arrested and detained without charge on September 30, 2018, and held for five days. An eyewitness to the arrest who asked to remain…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 27, 2018
Erdoğan in Germany A Turkish man wearing a “freedom for journalists” T-shirt was thrown out of a press conference between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on September 28, video from Euronews and Özgürüz showed. The man was identified as Adil Yiğit, chief editor for the Turkish language news website…
Kazakhstan detains French journalist and bans him from filming
New York, September 27, 2018–Kazakh authorities should allow French journalist Vincent Prado and his local fixer Danara Ismetova to work without obstruction, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Prado and Ismetova were briefly detained by police this morning, before a judge fined Prado and banned the journalist from filming in the Manghystau region of Kazakhstan,…
Somali authorities detain journalist accused of spreading ‘false news’
Nairobi, September 26, 2018–Authorities in the Somali state of Galmudug should immediately release broadcast journalist Mohamed Abdiwali Tohow without charge, the Committee to Protect Journalist said today. Intelligence personnel detained the journalist on September 22 over a report broadcast the previous day for the Mogadishu-based Radio Kulmiye, according to the station’s director, Burhan Dini Farah,…
Three journalists detained in Greece after minister files complaint
Athens police on September 22, 2018 detained three journalists from the daily newspaper Fileleftheros, for one day after Greece’s Defense Minister Panos Kammenos accused the paper of defaming him in an article that alleged mishandling of EU funds for migrant and refugee centers, the daily newspaper Ekathimerini reported.
Ugandan police arrest at least 8 journalists covering opposition MP Bobi Wine
Nairobi, September 20, 2018–Police in Uganda detained at least eight journalists covering the return of opposition MP Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, from the U.S, according to media reports and local journalists. The arrests are the latest incident of Ugandan security personnel assaulting, harassing, or arresting journalists covering political tension in the past…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 14, 2018
Court finds journalists guilty of making propaganda for terrorists A court on September 19 found the directors of the shuttered socialist television channel Hayatın Sesi TV guilty of making propaganda for terrorist organisations, the daily Evrensel reported.
Bulgarian police detain two investigative reporters
Bulgarian police on September 13, 2018 detained Attila Biro, editor of the Romanian investigative site Rise Project, and Dimitar Stoyanov, from Bivol, a Bulgarian investigative news website, according to reports. The investigative journalists were detained near Radomir, a town about 35 km west of the capital, Sofia, Bivol reported.
Uzbekistan arrests at least four bloggers over posts on religious issues
New York, September 6, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Uzbek authorities to end their harassment of bloggers covering religious issues, and to release at least four individuals arrested for their writing. Police in several Uzbek cities made arrests between August 28 and September 4, according to media reports.