CPJ calls on Myanmar to release Kamayut Media editor Nathan Maung, news producer Hanthar Nyein
Bangkok, May 21, 2021 – Myanmar’s military authorities must drop all charges against Nathan Maung, a U.S. citizen, and Hanthar Nyein, co-founders of the privately held local news website Kamayut Media, and immediately release them from detention, where their families report they have been physically abused, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities first…
Journalist Nurgeldi Halykov jailed in Turkmenistan since September 2020 on fraud charges
Stockholm, May 21, 2021 – Turkmen authorities should immediately release journalist Nurgeldi Halykov from prison and allow him and all other journalists to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 15, 2020, the Bagtyýarlyk District Court in Ashgabat, the capital, sentenced Halykov, a freelance correspondent working for the independent Netherlands-based news…
Tut.by reporter Lyubov Kasperovich sentenced to 15 days for covering trial
Vilnius, Lithuania, May 17, 2021 — Belarusian authorities must immediately release journalist Lyubov Kasperovich and stop persecuting members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, the Maskouvsky District Court in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, sentenced Kasperovich, a reporter for Belarusian independent news website Tut.by, to 15 days of detention,…
Myanmar sentences DVB reporter Min Nyo to 3 years in prison for criminal mutiny
Bangkok, May 13, 2021 – Myanmar authorities should not contest the appeal of Democratic Voice of Burma reporter Min Nyo, and should cease jailing journalists for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, a military court convicted Min Nyo on charges of criminal mutiny and sentenced him to three years in prison,…
Iran detained at least 8 Kurdish journalists starting in mid-2020; 3 remain behind bars
Washington, D.C., May 12, 2021 — Iranian authorities must stop imprisoning and harassing Kurdish and other minority journalists, and should allow all members of the press to cover the news freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since May 2020, Iranian authorities have arrested dozens of activists and students in a crackdown on perceived…
Police detain, fine 2 journalists over corruption reporting in Russian republic of Tatarstan
New York, May 11, 2021 – Russian authorities should not contest the appeals of journalists Aleksey Solovyov and Damir Manzhukov, and should release Solovyov from detention immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 9, the Vysokogorsky District Court in Russia’s central Republic of Tatarstan convicted Solovyov and Manzhukov, correspondents for the independent…
Uzbek blogger Otabek Sattoriy sentenced to 6.5 years in prison
Stockholm, May 10, 2021 – Uzbekistan authorities should immediately release journalist Otabek Sattoriy, not contest his appeal, and allow all journalists to work freely and without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Earlier today, the Muzrabot District Court in the southern Surkhondaryo region convicted Sattoriy, a blogger who covers local corruption…
Moroccan journalist Mohamed Boutaam arrested over corruption reporting
New York, May 7, 2021 – Moroccan authorities must release journalist Mohamed Boutaam immediately, drop any charges against him, and let him work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 4, judicial police in the southern city of Tiznit arrested Boutaam, director of the privately owned local news website Tizpress, after he…
CPJ testifies on threats to press freedom in Belarus at Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
Yesterday, at a hearing on Democracy and Human Rights in Belarus before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said gave testimony on the threats to press freedom and safety of journalists in Belarus. Said spoke on the sharp increase in press freedom violations and journalists’ detentions since the…
Iraqi Kurdish court upholds 6-year jail terms for journalists Sherwan Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari
New York, May 6, 2021 — In response to the Erbil Court of Cassation’s recent decision to uphold the six-year jail sentences of Iraqi Kurdish journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “With the Erbil Court of Cassation’s decision to uphold the six-year jail sentences of…