‘Living in fear’: Exiled Afghan journalists face arrest, hunger in Pakistan
Stuck with no income for more than a year after fleeing Afghanistan for Pakistan, Samiullah Jahesh was ready to sell his kidney to put food on the table for his family. “I had no other option, I had no money or food at home,” Jahesh, a former journalist with Afghanistan’s independent Ariana News TV channel,…
Bangladesh authorities open investigation into exiled journalist Abdur Rab Bhuttow, harass family members
On January 11, 2023, the Chawkbazar police station in Bangladesh’s southern Chattogram district opened a Digital Security Act investigation into U.K.-based Bangladeshi journalist Abdur Rab Bhuttow and the privately owned digital news platform London Bangla Channel, where Bhuttow serves as editor, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ by phone. Police…
Turkey adds journalist Can Dündar to list of wanted terrorists; at least 14 other journalists also listed
New York, January 3, 2023 – Turkish authorities should ensure that journalists are not included on the country’s lists of wanted terrorists, and should stop harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On December 30, exiled Turkish journalist Can Dündar revealed that he had been added to the so-called terrorist…
Pro-government Turkish daily Sabah publishes locations of exiled journalists
New York, October 24, 2022—Turkish authorities and their allies at pro-government media outlets should take steps not to expose the physical locations of exiled journalists, which puts them at great risk, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. The leading pro-government Turkish daily newspaper Sabah revealed the locations of at least three exiled Turkish journalists…
Keeping hope alive
Afghan journalists in exile continue reporting despite an uncertain future “I lost my family, my job, my identity, and my country,” Afghan journalist Anisa Shaheed told CPJ in a phone interview. A former Kabul-based reporter for TOLONews, Afghanistan’s largest local broadcaster, Shaheed is one of hundreds of journalists who fled Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover…
Tajikistan authorities detain, question relatives of exiled journalist Anora Sarkorova
Stockholm, June 29, 2022 – Tajikistan authorities must stop harassing relatives of exiled independent journalist Anora Sarkorova, and should allow members of the press to cover sensitive issues freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On the morning of Monday, June 27, officers from the Tajik Interior Ministry’s Department for Combatting Organized Crime detained…
Exiled Turkish journalist Ahmet Dönmez attacked in Sweden
New York, March 21, 2022 – Swedish authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the recent attack on journalist Ahmet Dönmez and determine if he was targeted for his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday. On Saturday, March 19, in Stockholm, unidentified people hit Dönmez’s car from behind and, when…
Russia-Ukraine watch
How the war is affecting press freedom in the region Updated June 16, 2022 Russia’s February 24 full-scale invasion of Ukraine marked a sharp escalation in threats to press freedom in the region and beyond. Journalists in Ukraine have been killed covering the war, while many of their Russian counterparts have fled or faced persecution….
CPJ welcomes El Salvador’s acceptance of 2 journalists expelled from Cuba
Miami, January 6, 2022 – Salvadoran authorities should continue providing support to Cuban journalists Esteban Rodríguez and Héctor Luis Valdés, and Cuban authorities should cease forcing journalists into exile, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At dawn on January 4, agents from the Cuban National Revolutionary Police and the Political Police took Valdés from…
