Journalist Tuğba Tekerek arrested in Turkey for ‘obscenity’ during LGBTQ+ crackdown
Istanbul, September 16, 2026—Turkish authorities must immediately release freelance journalist Tuğba Tekerek and stop jailing, detaining and intimidating reporters for simply doing their jobs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Police in Istanbul took Tekerek into custody late on September 13 during a sweeping crackdown against the LGBTQ+ community, which saw dozens of activists…
Imprisoned Tunisian journalist Zied el-Heni faces new terrorism charges
New York, September 16, 2026—Tunisian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release and drop all charges against journalist Zied el-Heni, who is serving a one-year prison sentence and faces two separate other criminal cases, including a new case where he is facing four terrorism-related charges that his family says could expose him to life imprisonment, the…
CPJ, partners urge China to ensure #MeToo journalist Sophia Huang’s freedom as jail term nears end
New York, September 15, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists and partner organizations call on the Chinese authorities to ensure journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin is freed without any arbitrary restrictions, as she approaches the end of a five-year prison sentence. Huang, whose reporting on human rights and sexual abuse helped spark China’s #MeToo movement, is due…
Turkey arrests journalist Selahattin Günday over 2011 report
Istanbul, September 15, 2026—Turkish authorities must release arrested journalist Selahattin Günday without delay and stop abusing the country’s laws to harass journalists and prevent them from doing their jobs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Günday, a former broadcast reporter for the now closed Doğan News Agency (DHA), was taken into custody by Istanbul…
CPJ condemns 15-year prison sentence handed down by Russian authorities to retired Ukrainian journalist Iryna Levchenko
Berlin, September 8, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the harsh 15-year prison sentence handed down by Russian occupation authorities to retired Ukrainian journalist Iryna Levchenko on charges of “espionage,” and calls for her immediate and unconditional release. The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Regional Court said on September 4 it had sentenced Levchenko, who is 64 and…
German journalist recounts 5-month detention in Syria, urges colleague’s release
On January 18, 2026, German journalist Eva Maria Michelmann and her Kurdish-Turkish colleague Ahmed Polad were detained while reporting from the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, as government forces advanced on the territory controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). After months of denying knowledge, authorities admitted holding them in custody. Michelmann, who had…
Journalist Oya Lale Özan Arslan arrested in Turkey on suspicion of ‘spreading disinformation’
Istanbul, September 8, 2026—Turkish authorities must immediately release arrested journalist Oya Lale Özan Arslan and stop weaponizing the law against independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. Arslan, a freelance journalist with over 118,000 followers on X and 151,000 on YouTube where she posts under the name Lale Özan Arslan, was detained…
Neither free nor imprisoned: Tunisia’s journalists in legal limbo
In Tunisia, at least four journalists and commentators sentenced to prison over the last year remain free, trying to work and carry on with their daily lives while knowing they could be arrested and taken into custody. Two others are in exile, unable to return home without risking imprisonment. Whether they will eventually be forced…
Journalist İrem Delice arrested in Turkey on suspicion of ‘spreading disinformation’
Istanbul, September 2, 2026—Turkish authorities should immediately release journalist İrem Delice, who was arrested on August 28 on suspicion of “spreading disinformation,” and repeal the disinformation law, which is being used all too often to criminalise journalism and silence reporting in Turkey, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Delice and three other staff members from…
CPJ urges Benin’s president to strengthen press freedom
The Committee to Protect Journalists has urged Beninese President Romuald Wadagni to take decisive measures to protect press freedom, in a letter marking his first 100 days in office. The letter highlights Benin’s deteriorating press freedom record in recent years, including the July 2025 arrest of Comlan Hugues Sossoukpè, publishing director of the privately owned…