Equatorial Guinea releases from prison journalist Ramón Nsé Esono Ebalé
New York, March 7, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed news that Equatoguinean cartoonist and blogger Ramón Nsé Esono Ebalé is free from prison after serving more than five months in a Malabo jail on false charges of money laundering and counterfeiting.
Nigerian journalist Tony Ezimakor released; colleague remains behind bars
New York, March 6, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the release today of Tony Ezimakor, Abuja bureau chief of the privately owned Daily Independent newspaper, who was held by Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) since February 28. Ezimakor was released unconditionally from DSS custody in Abuja around 10:30 p.m. local time, according to…
CPJ joins call for Uzbekistan to investigate claims jailed journalists were tortured
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined a coalition of 11 other international press freedom and human rights advocacy groups, in calling on Uzbek authorities to conduct an investigation into allegations of torture and ill-treatment of jailed journalists Bobomurod Abdullaev and Hayot Nasriddinov. The coalition, led by Human Rights Watch, called for the journalists to…
Threats, arrests, and access denied as Myanmar backtracks on press freedom
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Esther Htusan is no longer safe to report from her home country, Myanmar. The Associated Press reporter fled the country late last year after being threatened for her critical reporting on various topics that authorities deem sensitive, from the ethnic Rohingya refugee exodus, the military’s controversial counterinsurgency operations in Rakhine State, to…
Ethiopia’s Eskinder Nega refuses to sign false confession in exchange for prison release
New York, February 9, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Ethiopian government’s attempts today to compel Ethiopian journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega to sign a false confession before releasing him under a presidential pardon. Eskinder, who has spent almost seven years in jail for his work, was one of 746 prisoners due to be…
Saudi journalist jailed for five years for insulting royal court
New York, February 8, 2018–A specialized criminal court in Saudi Arabia sentenced al-Watan columnist Saleh al-Shehi to five years in prison for “insulting the royal court,” and imposed a five-year travel ban that will go into effect on his release, according to a report published today in the privately-owned Saudi newspaper Okaz. Saudi security forces…
Why release of two journalists in Ethiopia does not signal end to press crackdown
On January 10, radio journalists Darsema Sori and Khalid Mohammed were released from prison after serving lengthy sentences related to their work at the Ethiopian faith-based station Radio Bilal. Despite their release and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s promise earlier this month to free political prisoners, Ethiopia’s use of imprisonment, harassment, and surveillance means that the…
India charges photojournalist arrested in Kashmir in September with sedition, other crimes
New York, January 18, 2018–India’s National Investigation Agency today charged photojournalist Kamran Yousuf with criminal conspiracy, attempting to wage war against India, and sedition, according to news reports. Authorities charged Yousuf alongside 12 others accused of anti-state activities, reports said. Yousuf, a freelancer working in the Jammu and Kashmir region, who contributes to the daily…