Punjab authorities open blasphemy and defamation investigation into Pakistani journalist Waqar Satti
New York, August 30, 2022– Authorities in Pakistan’s northeast Punjab province must immediately drop their investigation into journalist Waqar Satti, allow him to report freely, and investigate threats he received in retaliation for his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Saturday, August 27, police in the Punjab city of Rawalpindi filed a…
Angolan journalists continue to face criminal insult and defamation proceedings
New York, June 30, 2022 – Angolan authorities should drop criminal defamation and insult investigations into journalists Escrivão José, Óscar Constantino, and Fernando Caetano and ensure that investigative journalism is not criminalized, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. The three journalists each told CPJ that they are facing ongoing legal processes over criminal defamation…
Indian police investigate 2 journalists following critical social media posts
New York, June 16, 2022 – Indian police must immediately drop investigations into journalists Saba Naqvi and Mohammed Zubair in response to their social media posts criticizing right-wing Hindu politics and activists, and allow all members of the press to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On June 3, police in the…
Russian police investigate journalist Ilya Ber over fact-check on Ukraine deaths
Paris, May 6, 2022 – Russian authorities should drop their investigation into journalist Ilya Ber and let the press freely cover the war in Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Thursday, May 5, local media reported that the Ministry of Internal Affairs department in Moscow’s Preobrazhenskoye district had launched a probe into…
Omani journalist Mukhtar al-Hanai charged over corruption coverage
New York, May 6, 2022 – Oman authorities should drop all charges against journalist Mukhtar al-Hanai and allow the press to work freely and without fear of legal harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. The public prosecutor’s office in Muscat, the capital, informed al-Hanai, a reporter for the news website Atheer, on March…
Indian authorities arrest 2 journalists over coverage of leaked school exams; reporters attacked covering Delhi demonstration
New Delhi, April 7, 2022 – Indian authorities should release journalists Ajit Ojha and Digvijay Singh immediately, drop their investigation into journalist Meer Faisal, and ensure that members of the press can work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On March 30, police in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district arrested Ojha and…
Iceland police investigate 4 journalists for alleged privacy breach in Samherji fishing company reporting
Berlin, March 25, 2022 — Iceland authorities must ensure that journalists are not subject to police investigations as retaliation for their work, and should drop their criminal probe into journalists who recently covered the Samherji fishing company, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. In November 2019, Iceland’s public broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), the privately owned…
Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor targeted in criminal investigation of protest
On March 3, 2022, police in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, opened an investigation into Asad Ali Toor for allegedly leading an unauthorized protest earlier that week, according to news reports and Toor, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview. On March 4, the Islamabad High Court ordered police not to arrest anyone named in the…
Spanish court orders investigation of 4 journalists over testimony in police abuse case
Berlin, February 23, 2022 – Spanish authorities should drop their criminal investigations into four journalists over their coverage of alleged police abuses, and should ensure that members of the press do not face criminal charges over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On February 16, the Provincial Court of Madrid acquitted a…
Kyrgyzstan authorities investigate Kaktus.media for alleged ‘war propaganda’
Stockholm, February 2, 2022 – Kyrgyzstan authorities should drop their criminal investigation into independent news website Kaktus.media and allow all media outlets to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Tuesday, the prosecutor general’s office announced a criminal investigation into Kaktus.media over its publication of an article, originally published by a Tajik…