Taliban intelligence agents detain American filmmaker Ivor Shearer, Afghan producer Faizullah Faizbakhsh in Kabul
New York, August 19, 2022 – Taliban authorities must immediately release American journalist and independent filmmaker Ivor Shearer and Afghan producer Faizullah Faizbakhsh, and cease detaining journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On August 17, Shearer and Faizbakhsh were filming in the Sherpur area of District 10 in Kabul–where a U.S. drone strike…
Zimbabwe must release filmmaker Zenzele Ndebele
New York, March 21–State security today arrested documentary filmmaker Zenzele Ndebele and charged him with “possession of offensive weapons at public gatherings,” under Section 43 of Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law Code, according to his lawyers and news reports. Security officers found a used tear gas canister in the journalist’s car when he arrived for a meeting…
Covering LGBTQ issues brings risk of threats and retaliation for journalists and their sources
To mark the annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, CPJ spoke with journalists and news outlets based in Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, the U.S., Uganda, and Russia, about the challenges they face reporting on LGBTQ issues.
Cameroon releases three journalists jailed under anti-terror law
New York, September 1, 2017–The office of President Paul Biya announced August 30 that Cameroon is ending criminal proceedings against those detained during unrest in the country’s two English-speaking regions. Atia Tilarious Azohnwi, political editor of The Sun, Tim Finnian, editor of Life Time magazine, and Hans Achomba, a freelance documentary filmmaker, are among those…
Two British journalists convicted in Indonesia over visa violations
New York, November 3, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the conviction of British filmmakers Neil Bonner and Rebecca Prosser who, according to reports, were sentenced to two and a half month in prison in Indonesia today. The conviction represents a failure of the government to reverse its long-standing anti-media policies.
Two British filmmakers on trial in Indonesia over visa regulations
New York, October 22, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the continued detention and trial of two British filmmakers who have been held in Indonesia since May 28. They are being held with the general prison population in a provincial jail in Batam, according to family members.
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, October 2013
CPJ launches US report Following CPJ’s release of its report on the state of press freedom in the United States, the organization is pursuing high-level meetings with the White House. CPJ had drafted six recommendations that were shared with President Obama, including calling for a guarantee that journalists would not be at legal risk or…
Iran arrests six documentary filmmakers
New York, September 19, 2011–Iranian authorities have arrested six independent filmmakers on vague accusations that they engaged in a foreign conspiracy in connection with a critical new documentary about Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to news accounts. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrests and calls for the journalists’ immediate release.