Egypt’s new anti-terrorism law deepens crackdown on the press
New York, August 17, 2015–An anti-terrorism law approved by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi criminalizes basic reporting and gives a broad definition of terrorist crimes that can be used to threaten and imprison journalists. El-Sisi signed the measure into law on Sunday night, according to news reports.
Moroccan court orders news website to shut for three months, fines editor
New York, August 14, 2105–A Moroccan criminal court on Monday ordered the independent news website Badil to suspend operations for three months and handed a harsh fine to its editor-in-chief, according to news reports and the journalist who spoke to CPJ. Hamid al-Mahdaoui was convicted of criminal defamation.
Hong Kong must identify, prosecute the mastermind of 2014 attack on journalist Kevin Lau
New York, August 13, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Hong Kong to work quickly and efficiently to identify the mastermind of the February 2014 attack on newspaper editor Kevin Lau Chun-to and ensure there is full justice in the case. Two men identified as Yip Kim-wah and Wong Chi-wah were found…
Egypt should release Shawkan, photographer detained for two years
New York, August 13, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to release freelance photographer Mahmoud Abou Zeid, also known as Shawkan, from prison immediately and drop the baseless allegations against him. By the time of his hearing on Monday, Shawkan will have exceeded the two-year legal limit on pretrial detention, according to…
CPJ calls on the Gambia to free journalist, drop charges against him
Dear President Jammeh: The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent international press freedom organization, is writing to express its concern about a Gambian journalist who has been held by the National Intelligence Agency since July 17.
Two U.S. journalists charged months after being arrested in Ferguson
New York, August 11, 2015–Two U.S. journalists have been charged in Missouri with trespassing and interfering with a police officer nearly a year after they were detained by police in the city of Ferguson, according to news reports. Wesley Lowery, a reporter for The Washington Post, and Ryan J. Reilly, a reporter for the Huffington…
Baku court bars press and family from Khadija Ismayilova trial
New York, August 7, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Azerbaijani authorities to ensure due process in the trial against award-winning investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova. When Ismayilova appeared at Baku Court on Grave Crimes for the first substantive hearing in her case today, journalists, international observers, and the reporter’s family were barred from entering…
In times of war, Pentagon reserves right to treat journalists like spies
The Pentagon has produced its first Department of Defense-wide Law of War Manual and the results are not encouraging for journalists who, the documents state, may be treated as “unprivileged belligerents.” But the manual’s justification for categorizing journalists this way is not based on any specific case, law or treaty. Instead, the relevant passages have…