CPJ, partners call on European Commission to act on press freedom in Greece
The Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday joined 16 partner organizations in a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, to ask her to hold the Greek authorities to account for press freedom concerns. CPJ and other organizations recently reported that Greece is the only EU country to currently have two…
CPJ presents joint report on declining press freedom in Greece
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined seven other international press freedom organizations on Tuesday in a joint report after a mission to Athens in September 2023. The report concluded that Greece is the only EU country to currently have two open cases of impunity for the murder of journalists, and almost no other country in…
CPJ condemns acquittal of suspected organizer of 1992 murder of Polish journalist Jarosław Ziętara
Berlin, January 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a recent Polish court ruling that, in a final, non-appealable verdict, acquitted former member of the Polish Senate and entrepreneur Aleksander Gawronik, who has been accused of being the initiator of the 1992 murder of investigative journalist Jarosław Ziętara. “We are deeply disappointed that the long…
Turkish journalist Sinan Aygül convicted for ‘insulting’ men who beat him; attackers get suspended sentences
Istanbul, January 25, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday called on Turkish authorities to ensure justice in the case of journalist Sinan Aygül, who was hospitalized by an assault last year. The 1st Tatvan Court of First Instance in the eastern province of Bitlis found Aygül, chief editor of the privately owned…
Israel-Gaza war takes record toll on journalists
Update: As of December 31, 2023, at least 77 journalists and media workers were killed; 70 of them Palestinian. More journalists have been killed in the first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year, according to CPJ data. By December 20, 2023, at…
CPJ calls for accountability after reports find Israel likely targeted journalists in Lebanon
New York, December 7, 2023 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes Thursday’s release of reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse (AFP) into the deadly October 13 strike on journalists in southern Lebanon, and reiterates its call for an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation that holds the perpetrators to…
CPJ, partners call for journalists’ protection in Vietnam ahead of country’s human rights review
New York, November 2, 2023—Journalists in Vietnam are facing widespread threats and mistreatment, and have been routinely detained or imprisoned for their reporting and commentary, according to a joint submission to the United Nations prepared by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom House, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. The joint submission is being released…
In Haiti, murders of journalists go unpunished amid instability and gang violence
Dumesky Kersaint never flinched when it came to investigating violence in his gang-controlled suburb of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. On the morning of April 16, the 31-year-old radio reporter left before dawn to cover a previous night’s shooting near his home in Carrefour-Feuilles. He never came back. Several hours after setting out, Kersaint’s body was found…
Crisis-hit Haiti fails to deliver justice for murdered journalists
Impunity for the killers of journalists continues unabated at nearly 80% worldwide Full justice achieved in fewer than 5% of cases since 1992 New York, October 31, 2023—No one has been brought to justice in nearly 80% of the 261 cases of journalists murdered in retaliation for their work in the past decade, according to…
Timeline: The 35-year road to justice for murdered journalist Hugo Bustíos Saavedra
When Hugo Bustíos Saavedra was killed in 1988, Peru’s government was embroiled in conflict with leftist guerilla groups, many civil liberties had been suspended, and efforts to seek justice in the journalist’s death seemed futile. CPJ and other press freedom groups unsuccessfully tried for years to pressure Peru’s government to investigate Bustíos’ murder, including by asking…