Russian court jails journalist Sergey Stepanov for 30 days over Navalny protest coverage
Vilnius, Lithuania, April 29, 2021 — Russian authorities should release journalist Sergey Stepanov immediately and should cease detaining and harassing members of the press covering protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Oktyabrsky District Court in the central Russian city of Tambov sentenced Stepanov, a freelance correspondent for Finnish TV and radio broadcaster…
Myanmar must release the dozens of journalists in its jails in wake of military coup
Bangkok, April 29, 2021 — Myanmar’s military junta must immediately and unconditionally release all of the journalists detained since the country’s February 1 coup, and should stop using legal threats to harass and intimidate the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Preliminary investigations by CPJ found at least 40 journalists imprisoned as of…
April 2021: The ‘voice of the people’: Anastasia Mejía vows to keep reporting after Guatemala arrest
On August 24, 2020, Anastasia Mejía prepared herself for yet another day of reporting in Joyabaj in central Guatemala. At 49 years old, she had spent the previous 11 years covering the city’s Indigenous Maya K’iche’ community, to which she belongs. Her subject that day was a protest of mostly Maya K’iche’ merchants who wanted…
Vietnam sentences independent reporter Tran Thi Tuyet Dieu to 8 years in prison
Bangkok, April 26, 2021 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today strongly condemned the conviction and severe prison sentence given to Vietnamese journalist Tran Thi Tuyet Dieu and called for her immediate and unconditional release. On April 23, the People’s Court in Phu Yen province convicted Dieu under Article 117 of the penal code, an anti-state provision that bans “creating, storing and disseminating information and materials” against the state, and sentenced her…
CPJ, other groups urge Biden administration not to waive human rights conditions on Egypt aid
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 13 other civil society groups in sending an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Jake Sullivan, assistant to the president for national security affairs, urging the Biden administration not to waive human rights conditions in sending military aid to Egypt for fiscal year 2020. In…
Israeli security forces arrest Palestinian journalist Alaa al-Rimawi in Ramallah
New York, April 22, 2021 – Israeli authorities should immediately make public any charges against Palestinian journalist Alaa al-Rimawi and disclose where he is being held, or release him unconditionally at once, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Early yesterday morning, a group of about 12 Israeli soldiers raided the Ramallah home of al-Rimawi,…
Jailed Indian journalist Siddique Kappan hospitalized after contracting COVID-19
New Delhi, April 21, 2021 – Authorities in India’s Uttar Pradesh state should immediately release journalist Siddique Kappan from custody and allow him to freely seek medical treatment for COVID-19, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Kappan collapsed in the Mathura Jail yesterday, where he is held pending trial, and today he tested positive…
Algerian journalist Rabah Karèche detained on false news and anti-state allegations
New York, April 20, 2021 – Algerian authorities must immediately set free journalist Rabah Karèche and cease their investigation into his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On April 18, judicial police in the southern city of Tamanrasset arrested Karèche, a correspondent for the daily privately owned newspaper Liberté, after he responded to…
Imprisoned Uyghur journalist Erkin Tursun appears in Chinese propaganda video
Taipei, April 19, 2021 – Chinese authorities should immediately release journalist Erkin Tursun and stop using imprisoned members of the press in propaganda materials, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On April 9, at a press event in Beijing, Chinese officials aired a video of Tursun, a former TV producer who has been imprisoned…