Turkish courts to resume journalists’ trials after COVID-19 freeze
Istanbul, June 23, 2020 – Turkey should stop prosecuting journalists and ensure that necessary safety measures are taken for trials held during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 16, Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül wrote on Twitter that trials would resume in the country, following a three-month suspension due to…
Bangladeshi authorities investigate 5 journalists, detain 2 under Digital Security Act for COVID-19 reporting
New York, June 22, 2020 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on authorities in Bangladesh to immediately and unconditionally release political cartoonist Kabir Kishore and writer and commentator Mushtaq Ahmed and to stop using the Digital Security Act to silence critical reporting on the coronavirus pandemic. On May 6, Kishore, Ahmed, and three…
Police detain journalists covering protests in Belarus, charge 3
Vilnius, Lithuania, June 22, 2020 – Belarusian authorities should stop prosecuting and harassing journalists covering protests, the Committee to Protect Journalist said today. On June 19, police officers detained at least 14 journalists covering protests in Minsk, the capital, and other cities against the reelection of President Aleksandr Lukashenko, and today, local courts convicted three…
Sierra Leone journalist Sylvia Olayinka Blyden detained, charged over social media posts
Abuja, June 18, 2020 — Authorities in Sierra Leone should release journalist Sylvia Olayinka Blyden immediately and drop the charges against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 1, police arrested Blyden, publisher of the Awareness Times newspaper, at her home in Freetown for alleged “cyber-related” offenses, according to Messeh Leone, a…
Algerian journalist Merzoug Touati arrested over protest coverage
New York, June 17, 2020 – Algerian authorities must immediately release journalist Merzoug Touati and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 12, Algerian police arrested Touati, a reporter for the news website L’Avant-Garde, while he was covering anti-government protests in the city of Béjaïa, according to journalist…
Guatemalan journalist Francisco Chox attacked by protesters, arrested while covering land dispute
Managua, Nicaragua, June 17, 2020 – Guatemalan authorities should immediately release journalist Francisco Chox and open a thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances of his arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 11, a group of protesters in the municipality of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan, in Sololá department, detained Chox while he…
Journalist Afgan Sadygov detained since May in Azerbaijan
New York, June 17, 2020 – Azerbaijani authorities should release journalist Afgan Sadygov and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The journalist has been jailed for his work at least three times in three years, according to CPJ research. At about 3 p.m. on May 13, Sadygov, chief editor…
One journalist in hiding, 2 others detained over protest coverage in Djibouti
New York, June 17, 2020 — Authorities in Djibouti should stop harassing journalists working with the La Voix de Djibouti broadcaster, and ensure that the press can cover matters of public interest without intimidation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 5, police in the southern city of Ali Sabieh arrested Kassim Nour…
Egyptian journalist Mohamed Monir detained, charged with spreading false news
New York, June 15, 2020 — Egyptian authorities must immediately release journalist Mohamed Monir and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Earlier today, plainclothes security officers in Giza arrested Monir, a veteran journalist and freelance columnist who had recently written for the Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera, according to Al-Jazeera and…
Israeli police assault, detain Israeli photographer Tomer Appelbaum during protests in Tel Aviv against West Bank annexation
Israeli police kneed, punched, shoved, and briefly detained Tomer Appelbaum, a photographer for the Israeli daily Haaretz, as he was covering a Tel Aviv demonstration against Israel’s West Bank annexation on June 6, 2020, Appelbaum told CPJ via messaging app. Haaretz also reported on the incident, which was captured in videos shared to social media….