Legal Action

By Yasmin El-Rifae/Middle East and North Africa Research Associate

In the small, polished Moroccan capital of Rabat, pictures of King Mohamed VI, who took the throne in 1999, hang in many shops, offices, and hotels. In most of these, he is clean-shaven, smiling, and wearing a suit: a modern monarch. His image is part of the official narrative of the country as a place of moderation and progress.

New York, July 15, 2016 - The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arbitrary detention of two radio journalists in the Ituri district of Oriental Province in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and calls on Congolese officials to release them both immediately.

CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova today provided written testimony at a hearing titled "Turkey's Democratic Decline," given before the Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats Subcommittee of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.

By Sumit Galhotra/CPJ Asia Program Senior Research Associate

News outlets in the Maldives are closing down, one after another. The story at each publication is different, sometimes complicated, but the outcome is the same: journalists are facing a tougher time doing their jobs.

New York, July 6, 2016--The Committee to Protect Journalists called on prosecutors today to drop all charges against Mark Thomason, the publisher of local weekly newspaper Fannin Focus, in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Thomason, who was arrested June 24, faces felony charges including making a false statement in an open records request.

By Özgür Öğret/CPJ Turkey Representative

An arrest warrant was issued yesterday for the Turkish journalist Tarık Toros, according to reports. The pro-government daily, Sabah, reported that Toros was one of more than 30 people against whom arrest warrants were issued as part of a police operation against the alleged terrorist group controlled by Fethullah Gülen. CPJ was unable to determine the charges Toros allegedly faces.

Nairobi, June 28, 2016--The editor-in-chief of independent Zambian newspaper The Post was arrested trying to enter his newspaper's offices today, after authorities closed it in a dispute over allegedly unpaid taxes. Fred M'membe, his wife Mutinta, and his deputy managing editor Joseph Mwenda, were released on bail, but face charges of breaking into a building, according to reports.

By Yaqiu Wang/CPJ Northeast Asia Correspondent

During a visit to Mongolia this month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hailed the country as "an oasis of democracy." Mongolia, sandwiched between powerful autocratic neighbors Russia and China, underwent democratic transition in 1990 when it broke away from Soviet rule, and has since held several elections characterized by the Asia Foundation as "reasonably free and fair." The next exercise in democracy will be the parliamentary election Wednesday.

By Elisabeth Witchel/CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant

Last week, the proposed Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act emerged from the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee with approval. The bill was passed by the Senate last year. If passed by the full House of Representatives and signed into law by the president, it has the potential to offer partial redress to one of the most chilling truths facing journalists today: in 90 percent of cases, the murders of journalists go unpunished.

Istanbul, May 18, 2016--The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a decision made Tuesday by Turkey's Constitutional Court to reject a petition for release by journalist Mehmet Baransu, who has been held in pretrial detention since March 2015 on charges of obtaining classified documents.