Belarus journalists charged, detained over alleged Facebook interactions with banned outlets
Vilnius, Lithuania, November 4, 2021 — Belarusian authorities should cease their practice of banning news outlets, and should not punish journalists for allegedly interacting with such banned outlets, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 1, Belarusian courts convicted two journalists, Iryna Slaunikava and Syarhei Niarouny, on charges of spreading extremism over their alleged…
CPJ, other groups call on Turkey to release imprisoned journalist Nedim Türfent
CPJ joined PEN International, the International Press Institute, the Media and Law Studies Association, and 50 other Turkish and international groups in a statement today calling for Turkish authorities to immediately and unconditionally release imprisoned journalist Nedim Türfent, a former reporter for the shuttered pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA) on the 2,000th day of his…
Hamas security forces arrest journalist Alaa al-Mashrawi in Gaza
New York, November 2, 2021 – Authorities with Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, should immediately release Palestinian journalist Alaa al-Mashrawi, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At 4 p.m. on October 31, Hamas’ Internal Security Forces arrested al-Mashrawi, director of the local news website Al-Mashreq News and the Al-Mashreq Foundation…
Ethiopian authorities detain two broadcast journalists
Nairobi, November 2, 2021 — Authorities in Ethiopia must immediately release Ahadu Radio and Television journalists Luwam Atikilti and Kibrom Worku and stop retaliating against members of the press for their coverage of the ongoing war in northern Ethiopia, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 22, at approximately 4:00 p.m., police in…
Iranian journalist Manoochehr Aghaei begins 8-month prison sentence
Washington, D.C., November 1, 2021 — Iranian authorities must release journalist Manoochehr Aghaei immediately and unconditionally, and cease jailing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 27, Aghaei, the editor-in-chief of the independent, social media-based news outlet MiandoabPress and a reporter for the state-run news website Young Journalists’ Club,…
CPJ condemns harsh prison sentences handed to 5 journalists in Vietnam
Bangkok, November 1, 2021 – Vietnamese authorities should immediately release five journalists recently sentenced to prison terms for alleged anti-state crimes, and cease persecuting members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 28, a court in the southern city of Can Tho convicted Truong Chau Huu Danh, Doan Kien Giang,…
Eight press freedom threats to watch ahead of Nicaragua’s presidential elections
On November 7, Nicaraguans are set to go to the polls to vote for president, the culmination of a campaign that has included the detention of opposition candidates, the banning of civil society organizations, and continued suppression of the country’s independent press. Nicaragua’s press freedom environment sharply deteriorated in 2018, when journalists covering protests against…
CPJ joins letter calling for release of Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 27 other free speech and human rights organizations in an open letter urging Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalist Pham Doan Trang. The letter is timed to coincide with the start of her trial on November 4; Trang has been held in pretrial detention for over…
Myanmar prison release falls short with over 20 journalists still behind bars
Bangkok, October 25, 2021 – Myanmar’s military junta should immediately follow up its recent release of at least 15 jailed journalists by freeing all those still wrongfully held in detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 18, the country’s military government announced the release of over 5,600 prisoners in an amnesty on…
China’s Olympic press freedom pledges: Worthless in 2008, absent in 2022
Prospects for free-wheeling media coverage of the February Beijing Winter Olympics seem increasingly dim, not least because of the attitude of the International Olympic Committee. On October 13, John Coates, vice president of the International Olympic Committee, dismissed out of hand calls from CPJ, human rights groups, and US lawmakers to pressure Beijing over its…