Two Sri Lankan journalists questioned, harassed following protest coverage
New York, November 8, 2023—Sri Lankan authorities must immediately drop any investigation into freelance Tamil journalists Punniyamoorthy Sasikaran and Valasingham Krishnakumar in retaliation for their reporting and allow them to work without interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On October 28, a police officer separately interrogated Sasikaran and Krishnakumar at their homes in…
In Haiti, murders of journalists go unpunished amid instability and gang violence
Dumesky Kersaint never flinched when it came to investigating violence in his gang-controlled suburb of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. On the morning of April 16, the 31-year-old radio reporter left before dawn to cover a previous night’s shooting near his home in Carrefour-Feuilles. He never came back. Several hours after setting out, Kersaint’s body was found…
CPJ statement on news blackout in Gaza
Update: News reports late Saturday, October 28, indicated the blackout was easing, but communications have yet to be fully restored. New York, October 27, 2023 – The Israel-Gaza war has entered a new stage with intensified bombing and ground operations by Israeli forces. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is highly alarmed by widespread reports of…
Tipping the scales: Journalists’ lawyers face retaliation around the globe
The smears began the day Christian Ulate began representing jailed Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora: tweets accusing the lawyer of being a leftist or questioning his legal credentials. He began to fear he was being surveilled. Ulate had taken over the case in August 2022 from two other lawyers, Romeo Montoya García and Mario Castañeda,…
CPJ joins group calling for explanation of FBI raid linked to Tucker Carlson interview
The FBI used a search warrant to raid the home of freelance journalist Tim Burke on May 8, 2023, in Tampa, Fla., seizing most of his electronic devices, after Burke obtained outtakes of a 2022 Fox News interview by Tucker Carlson with the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. The Committee to Protect Journalists signed on…
Angolan editor Daniel Frederico faces criminal defamation charges
Nairobi, October 3, 2023—Authorities in Angola must drop charges of criminal defamation and insult against journalist Daniel Frederico and stop criminalizing his reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. Last week, a district court in the Angolan capital Luanda summoned Frederico, editor of news portal Reporter Angola who publishes under the pen name…
Two Prague-based Russian journalists threatened, fear surveillance
New York, September 21, 2023—Czech authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into recent threats received by journalists at the independent investigative news website IStories and ensure the journalists’ safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Between March and September 2023, IStories received four threatening messages via the feedback form on the outlet’s…
Investigation finds Russian journalist Galina Timchenko targeted by Pegasus spyware
New York, September 13, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists said that it is deeply disturbed by the findings of an investigation released Wednesday by rights organizations that the phone of Galina Timchenko, head of the independent Russian news website Meduza, was infected by Pegasus surveillance spyware while she was in Germany earlier this year. “CPJ…
CPJ joins call to protect journalists in Niger 1 month after coup
New York, August 25, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday joined at least 79 journalists and press organizations in calling on Niger’s military authorities to protect the rights and safety of journalists. “Journalists in Niger must be able to work safely and free of intimidation, especially as the country and region grapple with political…
Peru’s Manuel Calloquispe faces threats and assaults to expose environmental damage from illegal Amazon mining
Manuel Calloquispe has had to face an angry mob laying siege to his house. He’s been called a traitor. He’s been punched and kicked by miners and had his equipment stolen. He once had to duck for cover when someone threw a machete at him. The reason: His decade reporting on the environmental havoc caused…