Filipino journalists beaten, arrested while covering labor strike
Bangkok, August 1, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the detention of five Filipino journalists and the attack on at least one reporter by police and private security guards in Bulacan province’s Meycauayan City and called for an independent investigation that brings the perpetrators to justice.
In Belarus, critical blogger Sergey Petrukhin faces new charges
New York, July 31, 2018–Belarusian authorities should end their harassment of independent blogger Sergey Petrukhin and allow him to work without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court today charged Petrukhin with disobedience of an official order, according to the independent Belarusian Association of Journalists.
Israeli security forces arrest prominent Palestinian writer in West Bank
Beirut, July 27, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern about the arrest and detention without charge of Lama Khater, a Palestinian blogger and contributing opinion writer to several media outlets, including Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, the Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network, and the Arab online women’s publication Meem Magazine.
Guinean journalist detained on defamation charges
Guinean authorities arrested journalist Saliou Diallo in the country’s capital, Conakry, on June 19, 2018, and detained him in the city’s central prison on defamation charges, according to his lawyer, Moussa Diallo, who is unrelated to the journalist.
Chinese police arrest critical blogger Chen Jieren
Taipei, July 11, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Chinese authorities to immediately release Chen Jieren, an independent blogger who frequently published articles critical of the Communist Party officials on his blog, Jieren Guancha (Jieren Watch).
Houthis detain at least three more journalists in late June and early July
The Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, detained at least three current and former Yemeni journalists–Iyad al-Wasmani, Abdulsalam al-Doaiss, and Abed al-Jaradi–between June 27 and July 7, 2018, according to news reports and the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate.
Azerbaijani journalist detained, whereabouts unknown
New York, July 10, 2018–Azerbaijani authorities should immediately release independent journalist Afgan Sadygov, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police first detained Sadygov, the founder and chief editor of now-defunct independent news website Azel, on July 6, according to his wife Sevinch Sadygova, who spoke to CPJ today. He was tried on July 7…
CPJ calls on Egyptian authorities to release journalists held on false news charges
Washington, D.C., July 10, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Egyptian authorities to drop the charges against a group of journalists held in pretrial detention for false news and release the journalists immediately.
Independent journalist detained on anti-state charges in Vietnam
Bangkok, July 9, 2018–Vietnamese authorities should immediately release and stop harassing journalist Le Anh Hung, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police on July 5 detained Hung, a regular contributor to U.S. Congress-funded Voice of America (VOA) and a prominent independent blogger, on suspicion of “abusing democratic freedoms” to infringe on the interests of…