Bosnian columnist Srđan Puhalo receives death threats
Berlin, May 24, 2022 — Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate death threats made against columnist Srđan Puhalo and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On May 6, Puhalo, a regular columnist for news website Frontal, received numerous online insults, threats of physical violence, and death threats following…
‘Disastrous for press freedom’: What Russia’s goal of an isolated internet means for journalists
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presents a danger not only for reporters operating in the war zone. The campaign could also pose a broader threat to press freedoms and other civil liberties if it brings the Kremlin closer to its dream of creating a domestically controlled internet. Russia’s internet regulator, Rozkomnadzor, has long been able to…
Tajikistan outlet threatened with closure; 4 journalists attacked during unrest coverage
New York, May 20, 2022 – Tajikistan authorities must withdraw their official warning against independent outlet Asia Plus, swiftly and transparently investigate attacks on four journalists, and ensure that reporters can freely cover events of public importance, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Tuesday, May 17, Asia Plus announced that it was ceasing…
Albanian journalists reporting on prosecutor’s vetting intimidated, personal data breached
On April 23, 2022, the wife of Albanian journalist Edmond Hoxhaj received a notification from the government’s official e-Albania website that a notary public named Agron Bajri had downloaded personal information about their family, according to a report by Safejournalists.net, a regional website tracking violence against journalists, and Hoxhaj, who corresponded with CPJ via email….
Kashmir media at a ‘breaking point’ amid rising number of journalist detentions
Sajad Gul’s mother had prepared his favorite dishes as she anxiously awaited his return home. The Kashmiri journalist, who had been granted bail the day before, on January 15, 2022, was to be released following his arrest earlier that month in a criminal conspiracy case, according to a journalist friend who spoke on condition of…
Azerbaijan journalist Aytan Mammadova threatened at knifepoint
New York, May 11, 2022 – Azerbaijan authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate threats and a recent attack against journalist Aytan Mammadova and ensure her safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Around midnight on May 8, an unidentified man grabbed Mammadova in the elevator of her apartment building in the Binagadi district in…
How China is stepping up harassment of foreign correspondents
When international journalists rushed to Zhengzhou city in Henan province to cover a deadly flood in July 2021, they were confronted by angry bystanders who accused them of “spreading rumors” and “smearing China.” Many also received harassing messages on social media and intimidating calls, according to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. This hostility spread after the Henan Communist Youth…
‘Red-tagging’ of journalists looms over Philippine elections
As Philippine presidential candidates wind up their campaigns before the May 9 election, journalists in the country are demanding that whoever succeeds President Rodrigo Duterte put an end to “red tagging” – the labeling of individuals as rebels or supporters of the communist insurgency – that helped put their colleague Frenchiemae Cumpio behind bars. Cumpio, the 23-year-old executive director…
Armenian law enforcement obstruct journalists covering protest in Yerevan
New York, May 5, 2022 – Armenian authorities should thoroughly investigate recent attacks on members of the press by police and government officials, and ensure that those responsible are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Monday, May 2, at a protest in the capital, Yerevan, against the country’s policy concerning…