Russia detains journalist Svetlana Khustik for ‘fake’ news about Ukraine war
New York, October 1, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to end the prosecution of Russian journalist Svetlana Khustik, who faces up to 10 years on charges of spreading “fake” information about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and to release her immediately. On September 30, a court in the east-central city of Krasnoyarsk placed her under arrest for two months,…
CPJ, partners call for urgent action on systemic abuses in Hong Kong prisons
The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined 52 other civil society groups in calling on United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to address systemic abuses occurring in Hong Kong’s prisons. The joint letter highlights serious violations documented in a recent report, including the use of solitary confinement lasting far beyond international limits,…
Son of jailed Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu says espionage conviction ‘purely political’
Punishment of hard labor, censorship, and threats of demotion over more than three decades did not stop Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu from doing his work. It was lunch with a diplomat that finally did. Dong, 63, a long-time editor and columnist whose work is well known within China and abroad, was arrested in February 2022…
‘They want to break her’: A Q&A with jailed Tunisian commentator Sonia Dahmani’s sister
Tunisian lawyer and commentator Sonia Dahmani, known for her bold defense of human rights and civil liberties, has become a symbol of the country’s escalating crackdown on dissent. Arrested in May 2024, she has been subjected to five separate legal proceedings that could put her behind bars for decades under Decree 54 — a law…
Egypt re-arrests journalist Ismail Alexandrani over social media posts
Washington, D.C., September 26, 2025 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is calling on Egyptian authorities to immediately release journalist Ismail Alexandrani, who has already spent years imprisoned for his reporting. Alexandrani was arrested on September 24 at a checkpoint in Matrouh Governorate, northwestern Egypt, and later charged with joining a terrorist group, spreading false…
CPJ, partners urge Iraqi Kurdistan to free journalist Sherwan Sherwani
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), along with 17 press freedom, human rights organizations and media outlets, is urging the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq to immediately and unconditionally release journalist Sherwan Sherwani, who remains unjustly imprisoned for his independent reporting and has been subjected to systematic judicial harassment. On August 20, 2025, the Erbil…
CPJ and more than 250 journalists urge Philippine leader to free Frenchie Mae Cumpio
New York, September 24, 2025—More than 250 journalists and representatives from media groups around the world on Wednesday called for Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to take “decisive action” and immediately release journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, in a letter coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition. The 26-year-old journalist has…
Kyrgyzstan sentences 2 Kloop journalists to 5 years in jail on bogus charges
New York, September 17, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s sentencing of journalists Joomart Duulatov and Aleksandr Aleksandrov to five-year prison terms in Kyrgyzstan and calls for their immediate release. Duulatov and Aleksandrov, who worked as camera operators for investigative outlet Kloop, were detained on May 28 on charges of calling for mass unrest over videos produced by…
Belarus uses ‘extremism’ charges to jail a journalist for 4 years, detain another
New York, September 17, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Tuesday’s sentencing of Belarusian journalist Ihar Ilyash to four years in jail and a fine of 4,200 rubles (US$1,240) on charges of promoting “extremist” activities and “discrediting” Belarus. Separately, on September 13, the independent news website Pozirk reported that journalist Kiryl Pazniak had been detained in early September on suspicion of involvement with a…
Belarus frees at least 8 journalists unjustly detained for years
New York, September 11, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of at least eight Belarusian journalists, who were among 52 political prisoners freed on Thursday as the United States announced it was lifting sanctions on Belarus’ national airline. “CPJ celebrates that at least eight Belarusian journalists can finally return to their families after being freed from prison. They…