Iranian authorities jail journalist Amir Dehbashi in defamation case
Washington, D.C., March 23, 2021 — Iranian authorities must release journalist Amir Dehbashi immediately and cease arresting members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 17, security forces in the southwestern province of Bushehr arrested Dehbashi, a freelance reporter, and took him to a regional prison in the provincial capital, also…
Myanmar military files criminal mutiny charges against The Irrawaddy, detains 2 journalists
Bangkok, March 19, 2021 – Myanmar’s military junta should drop all charges against The Irrawaddy news group, stop using legal threats to intimidate journalists covering ongoing anti-coup protests, and release all journalists in its custody, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 12, the military government charged The Irrawaddy, a privately owned newspaper, under Article…
RFE/RL contributor Vladislav Yesypenko arrested, accused of espionage in Crimea
New York, March 18, 2021 – Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Vladislav Yesypenko and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 10, Federal Security Service officers in Russian-occupied Crimea detained Yesypenko, a freelance journalist, according to news reports and a lawyer hired by his family, Emil Kurbedinov,…
Belarusian authorities detain reporter Dzianis Ivashyn; prosecute journalists for protest coverage
Vilnius, Lithuania, March 17, 2021 — Belarusian authorities must stop prosecuting and harassing members of the press, and should allow reporters to cover issues of national significance without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 12, officers of the KGB, the Belarusian security service, in the western city of Hrodna…
Journalist arrested from clinic bed, detained over defamation complaint in Republic of Congo
Dakar, March 16, 2021 — Authorities in the Republic of Congo should immediately release journalist Raymond Malonga and ensure that the press in the country can work without fear of harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 2, security officers in plainclothes arrested Malonga, an editor at the privately owned Sel-Piment newspaper,…
Rwandan journalist Dieudonné Niyonsenga acquitted, released after 11 months in prison
Nairobi, March 15, 2021 — In response to the acquittal and release of Rwandan journalist Dieudonné Niyonsenga and media worker Fidèle Komezusenge, who had been detained since April 2020, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “While it is certainly good news that Dieudonné Niyonsenga and Fidèle Komezusenge have been acquitted and freed…
At least 3 journalists detained overnight in Yemen, pressured not to cover protests
On February 18, 2021, police in Hadramout Governorate, Yemen, detained at least three journalists and forced at least two of them to sign statements promising not to cover political protests in the region, according to the a statement by the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, a local press freedom group, and Mohammed al-Yezidi, a local reporter familiar…
CPJ calls for immediate release of AP’s Thein Zaw, all other journalists detained in Myanmar
Bangkok, March 12, 2021 – In response to today’s court ruling allowing Myanmar authorities to continue holding Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw and at least six other members of the press in detention on criminal charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw and all other journalists wrongly detained in…
Russian journalist Aleksey Mironov interrogated, charged over Navalny protest coverage
Vilnius, Lithuania, March 9, 2021 — Russian authorities should drop all charges against journalist Aleksey Mironov and allow the press to cover protests and other political events without fear, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 5, police in Cheboksary, the capital of the central Russian autonomous republic of Chuvashia, detained Mironov, a…
Russian journalist Ilya Azar sentenced to 15 days for allegedly organizing protests
On March 3, 2021, the Tverskoy District Court in Moscow sentenced Ilya Azar, a correspondent for the liberal Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, to 15 days of detention and a fine of 150,000 rubles (US$2,014) for allegedly organizing illegal protests on Facebook, according to news reports and a statement from his employer. On March 5, the…