Pakistani journalist Imran Riaz Khan arrested
New York, July 7, 2022 – Pakistan authorities must immediately release journalist Imran Riaz Khan and ensure that members of the press can work freely and without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On the evening of Tuesday, July 5, police in the outskirts of Islamabad, the capital, arrested Khan, an…
Kazakhstan journalist Makhambet Abzhan detained for alleged extortion
Stockholm, July 6, 2022 – Kazakhstan authorities should release journalist Makhambet Abzhan immediately, and ensure that members of the press are not prosecuted in retaliation for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On the morning of Sunday, July 3, officers from the official Anticorruption Agency in the capital, Nur-Sultan, detained Abzhan, an…
DRC journalist Chilassy Bofumbo acquitted; two other reporters remain behind bars
Kinshasa, July 5, 2022 — A judge at the High Court in Mbandaka, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s western Équateur province, on Tuesday acquitted and released journalist Chilassy Bofumbo, who had been jailed since he covered a November 2021 protest, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ by messaging app…
Imprisoned Belarus journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva begins new trial on treason charges
New York, July 5, 2022 – Belarus authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva and stop prosecuting members of the press over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On July 4, Andreyeva’s trial on treason charges started behind closed doors in the southeastern city of Homel, according to a Facebook post by…
Cuban journalist Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca faces 6-year prison sentence for ‘sharing enemy propaganda’
New York, June 30, 2022 — The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday called on Cuban authorities to refrain from sentencing freelance journalist Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca to prison, to drop all charges against him, and to release the journalist, who has been held for more than a year in pretrial detention. In a closed-door hearing…
Congolese journalist Chilassy Bofumbo denied provisional release, back in court tomorrow
Kinshasa, June 27, 2022 – Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should unconditionally release journalist Chilassy Bofumbo and all other members of the press jailed for their work, and ensure that the media in the country can work without fear of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Thursday, June 23,…
Belarusian journalists Yauhen Yerchak and Dzmitry Suslau sentenced to 15 days each in detention
Paris, June 15, 2022 — Belarus authorities should immediately release journalists Yauhen Yerchak and Dzmitry Suslau, drop all charges against them, and allow the press to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On June 3, police in the eastern city of Babruysk detained Suslau, a reporter for the local weekly Kommercheskiy Kurier,…
CPJ calls on Biden not to normalize journalist killings and imprisonment ahead of Middle East trip
New York, June 14, 2022 – In response to Tuesday’s announcement of U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming visit to Israel, the West Bank, and Saudi Arabia to meet with regional leaders, the Committee to Protect Journalists reiterated a call for the U.S. government to press for accountability for the killings and imprisonment of journalists. Biden…
At least five independent Belarusian journalists face trials, years in jail
Paris, June 3, 2022 – Ahead of the imminent trials of at least five independent Belarusian journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the country’s authorities to drop the charges against them and immediately release them from jail, CPJ said Friday. The journalists, whose trials are scheduled to begin between Monday, June 6,…
Ethiopia detains journalists Bekalu Alamrew and Meaza Mohammed in ongoing media crackdown
Nairobi, June 3, 2022– The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday called on Ethiopian authorities to unconditionally release Bekalu Alamrew and Meaza Mohammed, the latest journalists to be swept up in the country’s recent crackdown on the press. At around 4 p.m. on Friday, May 27, security officers detained Bekalu, the founder and chief editor…