Legal Action

Ahead of this month’s parliamentary election, independent journalists in Kazakhstan have faced “unprecedented” pressure, ranging from criminal prosecutions to professional bans, and this crackdown warrants heightened international scrutiny to ensure the country upholds its obligations on media freedom. Voters go to the polls on August 23 to elect a unicameral parliament established under a new…

New York, August 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists is shocked by the eight-year prison sentence handed down to Gulnara Bazhkenova, former editor-in-chief of independent outlet Orda, in Kazakhstan on August 18, and warns that this latest prosecution appears to be part of an escalating crackdown on the media ahead of elections this month. An Almaty…

New Delhi, August 18, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bangladeshi authorities to drop their new crimes against humanity case against journalists Shyamal Dutta, Mozammel Babu, and Farzana Rupa, and stop criminalizing news reporting.  Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Monday ordered prison authorities to produce the journalists, who have been detained since 2024…

The Committee to Protect Journalists and nine other international and local organizations, as part of the Brazilian Coalition in Defense of Journalism, in a joint statement condemned the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF) for its decision to violate a journalist’s constitutional right of source confidentiality. “Like any other citizen, journalists are subject to the law and may…

New York, August 14, 2026—Five years on from the Taliban’s seizure of Afghanistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the group to halt its brutal repression of the press — particularly women journalists — and lift sweeping restrictions that have cut access to independent information and allowed a propaganda ecosystem to flourish. After capturing…

São Paulo, August 14, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court has decided personal allegations are a reason to break source confidentiality, a right guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution, in journalist Luís Pablo Conceição Almeida’s reporting. Brazilian Supreme Federal (STF) Judge Flávio Dino accused Luís Pablo of “stalking”…

Nairobi, August 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities to immediately release five journalists who have been in detention for three years awaiting trial, instead of pressuring them to admit to, and apologize for, taking part in a deadly insurgency in exchange for their freedom. Gobeze Sisay, Meskerem Abera, Genet Asmamaw, Dawit…

Jakarta, August 11, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) and its executive vice-chairperson, Salim Fateh Din, to withdraw their excessive RM100 million (US$24.45 million) defamation lawsuit against veteran journalist P. Gunasegaram over an opinion piece on an urban rail project. The lawsuit, filed in the Shah Alam High Court…

Miami, August 10, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit against investigative journalist Jeff Stein, editor of the SpyTalk podcast on Substack. Stein was sued for $1 million earlier this year by Keith Bass, the assistant secretary of War for Health Affairs and former director of the Office of Medical Services at…

Journalists rely on confidential sources to uncover information that governments, corporations, and powerful individuals often want to keep hidden. When authorities subpoena journalists in attempts to compel them to reveal their reporting sources, they undermine one of the core functions of a free press in a democracy. The U.S. Department of Justice under the second…