Disappeared

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,…

Kinshasa, December 23, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to urgently ensure the safety and freedom of television host John Kabamba, who went missing from Kinshasa, the capital, on December 14, and to reverse his 90-day suspension from media activities. “The disappearance of journalist John Kabamba…

On January 8, CPJ joined 29 press freedom and advocacy organizations in a statement demanding the immediate release of Venezuelan journalist Carlos Correa, director of Caracas-based press freedom group Espacio Público, who was forcibly disappeared the previous day in the capital.  On January 9, CPJ signed another joint statement along with six organizations urging the…

Dakar, July 16, 2024— Burkinabe authorities should immediately and comprehensively investigate the disappearance of columnist Alain Traoré after armed men in masks claiming to be agents of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) took Traoré, a satirical columnist for the private radio station Omega, from his home in the capital of Ouagadougou on July 13. Three other journalists—Serge Atiana Oulon,…

Bangkok, June 6, 2024—Vietnamese authorities must reveal the whereabouts of independent journalist Truong Huy San, release him, and drop any pending charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. San, a well-known political commentator and author also known by his pen names Huy Duc and Osin, was apprehended by the police on June…

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the MENA Rights Group (MRG), filed an Urgent Action on April 12, 2024, to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, asking for the Iraqi Kurdish government to clarify the fate and whereabouts of Syrian journalist Sleman Ahmed, who was arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan on October 25, 2023. Ahmed,…

Mexico City, September 29, 2022 – Mexican authorities must immediately undertake a credible and exhaustive investigation into the disappearance of journalist Roberto Flores, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.  Flores, the founder and editor of Chiapas Denuncia YA, a Facebook page with 66,000 followers that publishes citizens’ reports about crime, security, and alleged government…

Stockholm, July 5, 2022 – In response to news reports that journalist Lolagul Kallykhanova has gone missing after covering protests in Uzbekistan’s western semi-autonomous Karakalpakstan Republic, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for authorities to provide any information on her whereabouts: “The disappearance of journalist Lolagul Kallykhanova is deeply concerning; Uzbek…

Paris, April 1, 2022 – Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Ukrainian journalist Konstantin Ryzhenko must come forward at once, and Russian authorities should stop detaining members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Wednesday, March 30, Russian soldiers searched in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson…

New York, January 29, 2021 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed alarm over the abduction of Syrian journalist Fanar Mahmoud Tami, and called on all parties in northeast Syria to ensure his safety. In the evening of January 23, masked assailants driving a white jeep abducted Tami, a freelance journalist who publishes news…