Demonstrators attack, obstruct journalists covering protests against COVID-19 lockdown in Germany
Since mid-July, 2020, German protesters against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions have attacked journalists covering their demonstrations, according to news reports and videos of the incidents shared on social media. On July 17, at a protest in the town of Weiden, Bavaria, protesters harassed Beate Josefine Luber, a local freelance reporter covering the demonstrations for regional…
Serbian journalist Jeton Ismaili’s family threatened during break-in
Berlin, August 19, 2020 — Serbian authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate threats made to journalist Jeton Ismaili and his family, and ensure their safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 2 p.m. on August 13, in Veliki Trnovac, southern Serbia, two men broke into Ismaili’s house and, finding only his wife…
Iraqi Kurdish security forces raid broadcaster, detain and beat journalists, seize equipment
New York, August 14, 2020 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities must cease harassing local news outlets, return journalists’ equipment they have seized, and let reporters cover protests freely and without fear of assault or detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 12, Iraqi Kurdish Asayish security forces raided the offices of local broadcaster…
Colombian court orders authorities to compensate journalist Claudia Julieta Duque for years of harassment and surveillance
New York, August 13, 2020 – In response to a decision by the Administrative Tribunal of Cundinamarca finding that the Colombian state violated journalist Claudia Julieta Duque’s rights and ordering multiple government entities to compensate her, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “The Cundinamarca Administrative Tribunal’s ruling is a necessary and overdue…
Hong Kong journalists struggle to carry on as national security law hits Apple Daily
An unnerving wait for the first impact on journalists of Hong Kong’s new National Security Law came to an abrupt end early yesterday when police arrested Next Digital founder and chair Jimmy Lai, along with four company executives and his two sons, while sending more than a hundred police officers on a raid of Apple…
Malaysian police raid Al-Jazeera’s office, seize computers in escalating legal harassment
Bangkok, August 4, 2020 – Malaysian police raided Al-Jazeera’s Kuala Lumpur office and seized two computers in an ongoing criminal probe into the global broadcaster’s July 3 report on the government’s treatment of undocumented migrant workers during the COVID-19 crisis, news reports said. Six of Al-Jazeera’s Malaysia-based reporters and staff members are being investigated on criminal charges…
Sudanese authorities in North Darfur state harass 2 journalists reporting on COVID-19
Between May 29 and May 31, 2020, local authorities harassed journalists Aida Abdel Qadir and Lena Sabeel in the Sudanese state of North Darfur as they were reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the independent outlet Radio Dabanga and a representative of the independent Sudanese Journalists Network, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app….
Freelance reporter charged with insulting Zimbabwe’s president
On June 29, 2020, Godfrey Mtimba, a freelance journalist in Zimbabwe’s southern town of Masvingo, was charged with insulting and undermining the authority of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the journalist and his lawyer, Phillip Shumba, told CPJ via messaging app. Mtimba was charged under Section 33 (2) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act,…
Journalists attacked, harassed while covering anti-lockdown protests in Serbia
Berlin, July 9, 2020 – Serbian authorities should quickly and thoroughly investigate attacks on journalists covering anti-government protests in the country, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 7 and 8, demonstrators and police attacked at least 10 journalists who were documenting protests in Belgrade, the capital,…
CPJ calls on Moroccan authorities to stop harassing Omar Radi
New York, July 2, 2020–Moroccan authorities must immediately stop harassing Omar Radi, investigative journalist at the news website Le Desk, and allow him to work and travel freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the National Brigade of Judicial Police in Casablanca summoned Radi to appear today in connection to an investigation into…