Legal Action

2510 results arranged by date

Putin

Russia adds CPJ to its list of ‘undesirable organizations’

New York, May 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists has been included on a Russian government list of “undesirable organizations” — a label used to suppress media outlets, NGOs, and other independent voices that the Kremlin deems a threat to its narrative control. CPJ, which was not notified of the decision or the reasons behind…

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A view from inside a stained window of an airplane shows Dubai International Airport, with the Burj Khalifa in the background, on March 8, 2026, amid the Iran war.

Press crackdowns in Gulf spike following Iran war, risk becoming permanent

Washington, D.C., May 6, 2026 — Since the Iran war started late February, the Committee to Protect Journalists has documented a crackdown on the press across the Gulf, and tracked unpublicized cases of arrests, intimidation, legal and financial actions against journalists and their media outlets. The escalation represents a significant and underreported threat to press…

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Mozammel Babu and Farzana Rupa

Bangladesh tribunal shows journalists Rupa and Babu arrested over 2013 reporting

May 15, 2026, New Delhi—Bangladeshi authorities must release journalists Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Babu, who were recently arrested in a crimes-against-humanity case filed at the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On May 14, the ICT in the capital Dhaka showed Rupa, a former chief reporter and presenter at…

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Thai journalist Kowit Phothisan.

Thai journalist Kowit Phothisan could face years in prison for defamation

Bangkok, May 14, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Thai politician Suchart Chomklin to immediately drop his criminal defamation lawsuit against Kowit Phothisan, editor of the independent online outlet The Isaan Record, and on Thai authorities to strengthen protections against strategic lawsuits targeting journalists. Kowit faces charges for sharing a Facebook post related to…

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Mohamed Shahzan and Leevan Ali Nasir

Maldives jails 2 journalists over documentary about President Muizzu

New Delhi, May 12, 2026—Maldivian authorities must immediately release journalists Mohamed Shahzan and Leevan Ali Nasir and end judicial harassment of their news outlet, Adhadhu, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. According to a report by Adhadhu and a post on X by the Maldives Journalists Association, a court in the capital Malé sentenced…

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U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche participates in a news conference to announce investigations into potential antitrust violations in the meat-packing industry at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

CPJ condemns Trump’s order for DOJ to subpoena journalists

Washington, D.C., May 12, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists demands that the United States Justice Department immediately withdraw grand jury subpoenas targeting reporters at The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in connection with their reporting on the Iran war. CNN reported that President Donald Trump ordered acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to submit the subpoenas using a sticky…

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Tunisia's President Kais Saied attends his swearing-in ceremony for his second term at the parliament in Tunis, Tunisia October 21, 2024.

Beyond Decree 54: Tunisia’s latest measures to silence the press

New York, May 12, 2026 — For years, Tunisia was viewed as one of the few post-Arab Spring success stories for press freedom in the region. In the decade following the 2011 revolution, journalists gained greater space to investigate corruption, criticize authorities, and report more openly than anywhere else in North Africa. Those gains, while…

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El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele attends the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 5, 2026. REUTERS/Al Drago

Bukele administration freezes Salvadoran news outlet’s assets in latest act of retaliation

Mexico City, May 8, 2026—El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s administration must immediately unfreeze the bank accounts and property of El Faro’s shareholders and end its use of the country’s Ministry of Finance as a tool for harassment of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Between February and April 2026, the Salvadoran government…

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Maldives' President Mohamed Muizzu attends the United Nations climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, on November 12, 2024. (Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)

CPJ, partners urge Maldives president to end legal action against Adhadhu News

The Committee to Protect Journalists and six other press freedom and human rights organizations have written to Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, urging his government to cease using the criminal justice system against independent news outlet Adhadhu News. On April 27, police from the Serious and Organized Crime Department raided Adhadhu’s office in Malé, seizing journalists’…

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Markwayne Mullin stands listening to U.S. President Donald Trump as he attends his swearing-in as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

How the Trump administration is using immigration authorities to restrict speech 

During President Donald Trump’s second term, immigration authorities under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have increasingly used their powers to curb independent and critical reporting.  Here are four things you need to know about how immigration agencies have participated in restricting press freedom in the United States:   See CPJ’s first-ever travel advisory for journalists entering and…

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