Two Somali journalists sentenced to 16 months in jail for false news
New York, May 23, 2022 — In response to news reports and statements from local rights groups that the Hargeisa Regional Court in the breakaway region of Somaliland sentenced journalists Mohamed Abdi Ilig and Abdijabar Mohamed Hussein to 16 months imprisonment for subversion and false news on Monday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the…
Siberian news outlets, management charged with disseminating ‘fakes’ about Russian army
Paris, April 14, 2022 — Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against the management of Listok newspaper and Novy Fokus magazine’s chief editor Mikhail Afanasyev, and allow the press to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Wednesday, April 13, law enforcement in Gorno-Altaysk, the capital of Altai republic in southern…
Turkish lawmakers propose up to 3 years in prison for ‘hurting the reputation’ of a private company
Istanbul, March 31, 2022 – Turkish authorities should reject a proposed amendment to the country’s laws that would threaten members of the press with prison time over their reporting on private companies, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On March 26, members of parliament with Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) proposed a…
Russia-Ukraine watch
How the war is affecting press freedom in the region Updated May 26, 2022 Russia’s assault on Ukraine has included attacks on dozens of hospitals, The Associated Press reported. Amid the escalating humanitarian crisis that has displaced 12.8 million people according to United Nations figures, journalists are under threat in Russia, Ukraine, and other parts…
Multi-year prison terms for Egyptian journalists Alaa Abdelfattah and Mohamed Oxygen ‘unacceptable’
New York, December 20, 2021 – In response to a Cairo court’s sentencing today of journalists Alaa Abdelfattah and Mohamed Oxygen to multi-year prison terms, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “Egypt’s sentencing of journalists Alaa Abdelfattah and Mohamed Oxygen to years in prison is unacceptable, and demonstrates the lengths…
Togo journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Joël Egah detained over online broadcast
New York, December 13, 2021 — Togolese authorities should immediately release journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Joël Egah and halt legal harassment of Isidore Kouwonou, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 9, national police officers arrested Ayité, the publication director of the privately owned L’Alternative newspaper, after he responded to a summons to…
New Greek criminal code amendment threatens journalists with jail for spreading ‘false’ information
Berlin, December 8, 2021 — Greek lawmakers should revoke an amendment to the country’s criminal code that threatens journalists with prison sentences for spreading what the prosecution deems “false” information, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 11, 2021, Greek lawmakers approved an amendment to Article 191 of the country´s criminal code that…
Egyptian authorities detain journalist Abdel Naser Salama on terrorism and false news charges
New York, July 19, 2021 – Egyptian authorities must immediately release journalist Abdel Nasser Salama and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, state security officers in Alexandria arrested Salama, a columnist at the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram and its former editor-in-chief, from his home, according to news reports. Prosecutors…
Iran convicts 4 media workers over coverage of alleged corruption in Oil Ministry
On July 5, 2021, Judge Abbas Shaghaghi of Branch 6 of Tehran’s Media Court convicted four members of the press on criminal false news and defamation charges, according to reports by the exile-run news website IranWire and the semi-official Tasnim News Agency. The court convicted Mizenaft managing director Hamid Hajipour, Naftema managing director Mehdi Ghadiri,…