Legal Action

2480 results arranged by date

Sonia Dahmani, a lawyer, writer, and prominent commentator in Tunisia, a law that has become the government main weapon against political commentary and independent journalism.

CPJ condemns 18-month sentence against Tunisian commentator Sonia Dahmani

New York, April 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tunisian authorities to repeal the April 13 appeals court decision to uphold the conviction of Tunisian political commentator and lawyer Sonia Dahmani while reducing her sentence to 18 months in prison. Dahmani is currently free, but she risks being arrested at any moment, her…

Read More ›

Zakir Hussain Dahar

Press freedom coalition welcomes arrest in Shan Dahar murder, urges Pakistani authorities to order transparent reinvestigation

New York, April 9, 2026—Press freedom organizations Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcome the recent arrest of Irfan Brohi, a suspect in the 2014 murder of Pakistani journalist Zakir Hussain Dahar and call on authorities in Pakistan’s Sindh province to immediately appoint a senior police…

Read More ›

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks to parliament in Budapest. Ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections, CPJ recommends ways to stem a declining media landscape.

Hungarian elections: CPJ calls on all candidates to commit to 10 key steps to restore press freedom 

Berlin, April 8, 2026—Ahead of Hungary’s parliamentary elections on April 12, the Committee to Protect Journalists is calling on all political parties to commit to restoring press freedom, starting with 10 priority issues.  Hungary’s media landscape has declined severely in the last 16 years under the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. His ruling Fidesz party…

Read More ›

A press briefing at the Pentagon in April. Worrying guidelines on how the military can categorize the press during conflict are contained in the Defense Department's Law of War Manual. (AP/Andrew Harnik)

How US media consolidation endangers press freedom

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is a government agency that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in the United States. Although the agency is supposed to be independent of the executive branch, recent actions by the FCC and comments by its chairman, Brendan Carr, represent a worrying politicization of the agency. In…

Read More ›

Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi faces espionage charges after reporting on alleged Russian influence operations, in a move critics say threatens press freedom ahead of upcoming elections.

Hungary files espionage charges against investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi

Berlin, April 1, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Hungarian authorities to immediately drop all espionage charges against investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi, and ensure that journalists can cover national security issues without intimidation or threats of imprisonment. On March 26, Gergely Gulyás, chief of staff to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, announced that the government had filed criminal charges against…

Read More ›

İsmail Arı

CPJ, partners call for release of Turkish journalist İsmail Arı

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined eight other local and international press freedom and human rights organizations in calling on Turkish authorities to release daily BirGün reporter İsmail Arı, who was arrested pending trial last week. Arı’s arrest was based on a 2022 disinformation law that introduced prison sentences of up to three years for…

Read More ›

Lithuania’s parliament, seen here, is considering changes to a law that risk undermining the independence of the country’s public broadcaster.

CPJ, partners highlight threats to public broadcaster’s  independence in Lithuania

Berlin, March 23, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists and partner organizations offered strong support today for independent public service media in Lithuania and highlighted concerns about proposed amendments to the Law on Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), currently under consideration by the country’s parliament. In a joint statement from the European Broadcasting Union and…

Read More ›

Headshot of Turkish journalist İsmail Arı

Reporter İsmail Arı imprisoned in Turkey for spreading ‘disinformation’

Istanbul, March 23, 2026—Turkish authorities must immediately release journalist İsmail Arı and stop misusing the disinformation law, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.  Arı, a reporter for the leftist daily BirGün, was taken into custody in the northern province of Tokat, where he was visiting family on March 21. He was taken to Ankara the…

Read More ›

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine hold a briefing amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

CPJ welcomes ruling on Pentagon access in favor of the New York Times 

Washington, D.C., March 20, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists is heartened by a United States District Court decision on Friday in the case of New York Times v. Pentagon, in which the judge decided in favor of the newspaper, and calls on the Pentagon to heed the court’s decision and abandon last year’s changes to…

Read More ›

Screenshot: Fox Nashville

CPJ joins legal effort to support detained journalist Estefany Rodríguez

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined a proposed amicus brief supporting detained journalist Estefany Rodríguez’s habeas corpus petition in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on Monday.  The proposed brief was filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) and joined by press freedom groups National Association…

Read More ›