Imprisoned

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CPJ, partners call on incoming Guatemalan attorney general to end persecution of journalists

In a joint letter led by the Committee to Protect Journalists, nine international press freedom and human rights organizations urged Guatemala’s incoming attorney general, Gabriel García Luna, to end the use of criminal prosecutions against journalists, drop politically motivated cases, and ensure safe conditions for exiled reporters to return. Over the past eight years, the…

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A view from inside a stained window of an airplane shows Dubai International Airport, with the Burj Khalifa in the background, on March 8, 2026, amid the Iran war.

Press crackdowns in Gulf spike following Iran war, risk becoming permanent

Since the Iran war started late February, CPJ has documented a crackdown on the press across the Gulf and tracked unpublicized cases of arrests, intimidation, and legal and financial actions against journalists and their media outlets. The escalation represents a significant and underreported threat to press freedom in Gulf countries, where free speech was already…

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Mozammel Babu and Farzana Rupa

Bangladesh tribunal shows journalists Rupa and Babu arrested over 2013 reporting

May 15, 2026, New Delhi—Bangladeshi authorities must release journalists Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Babu, who were recently arrested in a crimes-against-humanity case filed at the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On May 14, the ICT in the capital Dhaka showed Rupa, a former chief reporter and presenter at…

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Reporters Stéphane Shisso (left) and Guelord Shamba

DRC journalist detained since January, another in hiding after mining impact report

Kinshasa, May 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to release journalist Stéphane Shisso, who was arrested in January after reporting on erosion caused by mining, and to ensure the safety of his colleague Guelord Shamba, who is in hiding. “It is a grave injustice that…

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Photo: Courtesy of Rory Banker

Venezuelan journalist details complicated fight for amnesty post-Maduro

After nearly a year in prison, Venezuelan journalist Rory Branker is finally free. But he has yet to liberate himself from what legal experts and press freedom groups describe as trumped-up criminal charges that are hanging over his head.  After the U.S. military ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, Branker was one of more than two dozen journalists to be…

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Mohamed Shahzan and Leevan Ali Nasir

Maldives jails 2 journalists over documentary about President Muizzu

New Delhi, May 12, 2026—Maldivian authorities must immediately release journalists Mohamed Shahzan and Leevan Ali Nasir and end judicial harassment of their news outlet, Adhadhu, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. According to a report by Adhadhu and a post on X by the Maldives Journalists Association, a court in the capital Malé sentenced…

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Tunisia's President Kais Saied attends his swearing-in ceremony for his second term at the parliament in Tunis, Tunisia October 21, 2024.

Beyond Decree 54: Tunisia’s latest measures to silence the press

For years, Tunisia was viewed as one of the few post-Arab Spring success stories for press freedom in the region. In the decade following the 2011 revolution, journalists gained greater space to investigate corruption, criticize authorities, and report more openly than anywhere else in North Africa. Those gains, while incomplete, marked a significant break from…

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Publisher Jimmy Lai poses during an interview at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong on June 16, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Anthony Wallace)

CPJ urges Trump to prioritize Jimmy Lai’s release in meeting with Xi Jinping

New York, May 12, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges U.S. President Donald Trump to do everything possible to secure the release of jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai during his meeting this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Lai, a British citizen and founder of the defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was sentenced to…

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Journalist Zied el-Heni has been placed in pretrial detention by Tunisian authorities over a social media post.

Tunisia court sentences journalist Zied el-Heni to 1 year in prison

New York, May 8, 2026 – Tunisian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Zied el-Heni and stop prosecuting journalists under repressive laws for their reporting and commentary, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday after a Tunis court sentenced him to one year in prison. On May 7, authorities convicted El-Heni, founder of the…

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Aimable Karasira Uzaramba on his YouTube channel

Rwandan YouTuber dies of alleged overdose on day of release from prison

Nairobi, May 8, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an independent and credible investigation into the death of Rwandan YouTube commentator Aimable Karasira Uzaramba on Wednesday, the day of his scheduled release from prison at the end of his five-year sentence. In a statement, the Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) said that 48-year-old Karasira died…

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