CPJ joins calls for Congress to make human rights a focus of Uzbek president’s US visit
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined a coalition of 11 other international press freedom and human rights advocacy groups, in calling on U.S. Congress to require lasting human rights protection in Uzbekistan during President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s first official visit to the U.S. on May 16 and 17.
People need to know why our journalists were arrested in Myanmar, Reuters tells CPJ
Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have spent nearly five months in detention in Myanmar, on charges of violating a colonial-era Official Secrets Act. At the time of their arrest in Yangon on December 12, the reporters were investigating a mass killing of Rohingya men by Buddhist villagers and Myanmar troops that took…
Police in China arrest farmer over article alleging corruption at Yili Group
Taipei, May 9, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Chinese authorities to immediately release Guo Yuzhen, a dairy farmer in Shanxi province whom police detained after she wrote an article alleging that one of the country’s largest dairy producers exploited farmers.
Thai magazine editor freed after seven years in prison
News editor Somyot Prueksakasemsuk was released from Bangkok Remand Prison in the Thai capital on April 30, 2018 after serving a sentence for lèse majesté, according to news reports. Reports said that Somyot was greeted by a small group of family and supporters and appeared to be in good spirits.
Reporter arrested covering Memphis protest held in US immigration detention
Manuel Duran, the founder of Spanish-language news site Memphis Noticias, was arrested on April 3, 2018, while reporting on a protest against immigration detention in Memphis, Tennessee. Although the charges against Duran were dropped, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) transferred the reporter to a facility in Louisiana two days after his arrest.
Prosecution witness: Myanmar police planned ‘trap’ for Reuters reporter
New York, April 20, 2018–A prosecution witness in the case against two imprisoned Reuters journalists in Myanmar today testified that a police chief ordered officers to trap one of the reporters by handing him “secret documents” during a meeting, according to Reuters and other news reports.
CPJ calls on Niger to stop persecuting journalist Baba Alpha
New York, April 5, 2018–Nigerien authorities should reverse the expulsion of journalist Baba Alpha and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. After jailing him for a year, authorities on April 3 released Baba Alpha, a journalist with the privately owned radio and television news agency Bonferey, and drove him to Labbezanga,…
CPJ joins call for Ethiopia’s prime minister-designate to ensure journalists’ immediate release
The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with 40 civil society organizations, yesterday sent a joint letter to Ethiopia’s prime minister-designate, Abiy Ahmed, urging him to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of recently arrested journalists, and human rights defenders.
Censorship tightens in Egypt as el-Sisi prepares for re-election bid
Ahead of elections in Egypt later this month, in which President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is seeking a second term, the authoritarian leader’s government has further clamped down on press freedom, issuing warnings to the media and arresting critical journalists on “false news” charges. Even satirical TV shows have not been spared, with AFP reporting how…