Detained

Washington, D.C., January 29, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Saudi authorities to disclose the reasons for the detention of Saudi television and YouTube program host Mohamed El-Sayed. According to the U.K.-based Arab Organization for Human Rights in the U.K. (AOHR) and the U.S.-based independent media outlet Watan, El-Sayed was taken into…

For Congolese journalist Prince Cikala Mihigo, the first day of 2026 brought a brutal reminder of the risks of reporting: rebel soldiers beat and kicked him while questioning him about his work, leaving his face swollen and raw.   Cikala was assaulted at a checkpoint in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern city of Bukavu,…

New York, January 27, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately release journalists Hassan Abbasi, Artin Ghazanfari, and Hamed Araghi, as news of their detention emerged weeks after a nationwide internet shutdown began on January 8.  CPJ was unable to confirm the charges against the journalists or their current whereabouts. “The…

Istanbul, January 22, 2026—Turkish authorities must release all journalists detained in recent days across Turkey and allow them to cover political rallies and protests unobstructed, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Police in the cities of Şırnak, Istanbul, and Nusaybin interrupted political protests by Kurdish citizens of Turkey about renewed clashes between the Syrian government and Kurdish forces in…

January 22, 2026—A coalition of international and local press freedom organizations condemns the sentencing of Filipino journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio for between 12 and 18 years in prison in her terrorism financing case, denouncing it as a grave miscarriage of justice. Lawyers have moved for reconsideration of the verdict. Frenchie has meanwhile been acquitted on…

Paris, January 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately release freelance documentary photographer Navid Zarrehbin Irani, and to halt the systematic harassment and intimidation of journalists in Iran. Irani was arrested on January 16, 2026, at his home in Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan Razavi province in northeastern Iran, according…

Sulaymaniyah, January 12, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern after Syrian government forces detained three journalists and imposed restrictions on independent reporting in the Aleppo neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah following the government’s recapture of the areas following clashes with Kurdish units affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces. “We are deeply troubled by…

January 12, 2026—On the first anniversary of the arrest of prominent Georgian journalist and Sakharov Prize laureate Mzia Amaglobeli, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Press Institute (IPI), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) are urging Georgian authorities to immediately release her and credibly investigate alleged violations of her rights. The first woman journalist…

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Venezuelan authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalists Rory Branker, Nakary Mena Ramos, and Gianni González, drop all charges against them, and ensure that journalists in Venezuela can work freely and without fear of retaliation. “Pervasive attempts to silence critical voices under Venezuela’s Chavez and Maduro regimes must…

Mexico City, January 6, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the detention of at least 14 journalists and media workers in Caracas during the inauguration ceremony of Delcy Rodríguez as president, and urges Venezuelan authorities to guarantee that journalists can report freely without intimidation, surveillance, or retaliation. On January 5, 13 journalists and media…