Journalists attacked while covering alleged vote fraud in Nigeria’s Edo state
Abuja, September 23, 2020 –Nigerian authorities should investigate the recent attacks on journalists Samson Adenekan and Offem Nathaniel Ubanga, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 19, a group of at least 50 unidentified men attacked Adenekan, a journalist with the privately owned Premium Times online newspaper,…
Bulgarian reporter Martin Georgiev summoned for questioning over request for comment on police brutality
Berlin, September 22, 2020 – Bulgarian authorities must make good faith efforts to work with the press, and should refrain from taking actions that could intimidate reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 14, police in Sofia, the capital, summoned Martin Georgiev, a crime reporter at the local daily Sega, for questioning…
Bertha Foundation: Omar Radi’s arrest blocked Moroccan land rights exposé
The 10th time journalist Omar Radi was summoned by Moroccan police this summer, he was arrested on multiple charges including undermining state security and sexual assault, as CPJ documented in July. He was placed in solitary confinement in the Oukacha Prison in Casablanca to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19, and remained there as…
As ruling party fans spew online abuse, Pakistan’s female journalists call for government action
On August 16, Ramsha Jahangir should have been celebrating a journalistic triumph, the release of a long, deeply reported cover story for the weekend magazine of Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper on the government’s social media strategy and image-building. Instead, she spent the day watching in horror as a torrent of abuse filled her social media feeds. Eventually, she went offline. …
InSight Crime’s Héctor Silva Avalos subject of alleged investigation, presidential tweets
Managua, September 4, 2020 – Salvadoran authorities should make public any details about an alleged criminal investigation into InSight Crime journalist Héctor Silva Ávalos and stop using official social media channels to criticize and harass independent journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 1, Salvadoran news website La Página published an article…
Bulgarian journalist attacked while covering ruling party conference
On August 5, 2020, at the conference of the ruling GERB party in Sofia, Bulgaria, an unidentified man attacked journalist Polina Paunova, a correspondent for the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, according to news reports, a video of the incident posted to Facebook, and the journalist, who communicated with CPJ via email. In…
Baghdad court issues arrest warrant for owner of Iraqi broadcaster Dijlah TV
New York, September 1, 2020 — Iraqi authorities should immediately drop the arrest warrant for Jamal Karbouli, the Iraqi owner of Amman-based Dijlah TV, and allow Dijlah TV to operate freely and without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Dijlah TV has an office in Baghdad and broadcasts in Iraq. Baghdad’s…
Report: Rio de Janeiro mayor’s office paid employees to harass journalists covering pandemic
New York, September 1, 2020 – Brazilian national TV channel Globo yesterday aired an investigative report that found that the office of Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella used public funds to pay groups of municipal employees to monitor and obstruct journalists at local hospitals and block news crews from covering the COVID-19 pandemic. “It…
Four press freedom trends to watch amid Belarus’s antigovernment protests
The images coming out of Belarus look like scenes from a blockbuster film: A president clinging to power striding out of a helicopter holding a Kalashnikov assault rifle, while his gun-toting teenage son and heir apparent walks alongside him in a helmet and military vest; the protesters calling for the president’s removal singing songs, playing music, and taking off their…
Hong Kong denies work permit to editor of independent Hong Kong Free Press
Taipei, August 27, 2020 – The Hong Kong Immigration Department has denied a work visa to an editor of Hong Kong Free Press, the outlet said today in a statement that CPJ has seen. “Denial of a work visa to a thriving local news operation bashes the most basic promise of press freedom given repeatedly…