Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of December 2
Journalists in court A Diyarbakır Court on December 5 ordered Rojhat Doğru, a journalist formerly with the northern Iraq outlet Gali Kurdistan TV, to be detained pending investigation, the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency reported. According to the report, Doğru was taken into custody in Istanbul on the accusation of “being a member of a [terrorist] organization,”…
Canada’s Supreme Court rules against Vice Media reporter Ben Makuch
New York, November 30, 2018–The Canadian Supreme Court today upheld a lower court ruling that Vice Media reporter Ben Makuch should hand over his communications with a source. In a 9-0 decision, the court dismissed an appeal from Vice Media Canada Inc. and Makuch that challenged a Royal Canadian Mounted Police order requiring Makuch to…
Philippines piles on legal threats against critical news site Rappler
Bangkok, November 29, 2018–Philippine prosecutors have in recent days filed five separate tax cases against critical news site Rappler, including criminal charges that may allow for the arrest of the site’s founder and editor Maria Ressa, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the escalated campaign of legal harassment and calls on…
CPJ condemns Philippines’ threat to indict critical site Rappler on tax evasion charges
Bangkok, November 12, 2018–The Philippine authorities said on Friday they had grounds to indict news site Rappler, known for its critical coverage of President Rodrigo Duterte, and its founder Maria Ressa for tax evasion and failure to file tax returns, news reports said. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the threat and called on authorities…
Libyan authorities charge journalist with defamation, publishing state secrets
New York, November 8, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on authorities in the Libyan city of Ajilat to end their persecution of freelance journalist Mukhtar al-Halak, who is due in court on November 12 on charges of criminal defamation and publishing state security secrets.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 14, 2018
Court finds journalists guilty of making propaganda for terrorists A court on September 19 found the directors of the shuttered socialist television channel Hayatın Sesi TV guilty of making propaganda for terrorist organisations, the daily Evrensel reported.
Abuja court dismisses case against Nigerian journalist Jones Abiri
New York, September 17, 2018–An Abuja magistrate’s court today struck out a case against Jones Abiri, publisher and editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Weekly Source, Samuel Ogala, a lawyer who represents Abiri, told CPJ. The court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction over the state where the alleged wrongdoing took place, Ogala said. Abiri, who…
CPJ calls on EU to keep up pressure on Hungary amid press freedom concerns
Brussels, September 12, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the vote by members of the European Parliament in favor of a resolution against Hungary for breaching EU values, and called on the bloc to keep up pressure on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government.