In Ethiopia, journalist detained since 2013 handed jail sentence
New York, March 11, 2016–Solomon Kebede, the managing editor of the now-defunct Ethiopian paper Ye Muslimoch Guday (Muslim Affairs), was sentenced to prison Thursday, more than three years after being jailed on anti-terrorism charges. CPJ was not immediately able to reconcile conflicting reports on the exact length of the prison sentence.
Gambia should free ailing, arbitrarily detained journalist
CPJ today joined with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to call on Gambia to free Alagie Abdoulie Ceesay, managing director of the independent radio station Teranga FM, who has been charged with sedition and “publication of false news.” Ceesay has been hospitalized twice since the beginning of 2016. Read the full statement here.
On International Women’s Day, CPJ recognizes nine female journalists jailed for their work
Coverage of protests and riots. Revelations of official corruption and graft. Major natural disasters. Investigations into deplorable living conditions. These are some of the important issues journalists cover in their role as the Fourth Estate.
Egyptian journalist alleges torture, whereabouts unknown
New York, March 3, 2016 – Egyptian authorities should immediately charge or release journalist Sabry Anwar and order an independent and thorough investigation into claims he has been tortured, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security forces arrested Anwar, a correspondent for the independent newspaper El Badil, from his home in the Mediterranean city…
The business of censorship: Documents show how Weibo filters sensitive news in China
When journalists at the Guangdong-based Southern Weekly found that their 2013 new year editorial had been changed, without their knowledge, to exalt the virtues of the Communist Party, they took their outrage to the Chinese microblogging site Weibo.
‘Prison is the equivalent of a death sentence for him,’ son of journalist jailed in Iran says
The son of imprisoned Iranian journalist Issa Saharkhiz says his father’s health has deteriorated and he has lost a worrying amount of weight since being sent to Evin prison last November. In an interview with CPJ, Mehdi Saharkhiz said his father, who is due in court this week, has been treated poorly.
Press freedom crisis in India’s Chhattisgarh state deepens as two journalists flee Bastar
New York, February 29, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the deteriorating climate for the press in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh and calls on authorities to ensure that journalists can work there without fear of intimidation. In recent weeks, two journalists have fled the district of Bastar out of concern…
CPJ calls on Turkey to drop charges against Cumhuriyet journalists
Istanbul, February 26, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the conditional release today of Turkish journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül, of the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet, and calls on authorities to drop all charges against them. The two, who spent 92 days in pre-trial detention, still face multiple life sentences if convicted of exposing state…