Legal Action

Istanbul, June 18, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a Turkish court’s decision on Monday to censor media coverage of a hostage crisis in the Iraqi city of Mosul. Last week, insurgents led by the Al-Qaeda splinter group Islamic State in Iraq and Sham abducted at least 80 Turkish citizens, including 49 consulate…

New York, June 18, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from prison this week of two Egyptian journalists and calls on authorities to release at least 14 journalists still behind bars, including three Al-Jazeera journalists whose trial continues on Monday. Abdullah al-Shami, reporter for Al-Jazeera who was jailed without charge, was released on…

In Pakistan, where freedom of expression is largely perceived as a Western notion, the Snowden revelations have had a damaging effect. The deeply polarized narrative has become starker as the corridors of power push back on attempts to curb government surveillance. “If the citizens of the United States of America cannot have these rights, how…

New York, June 13, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of Hassan Ishaq, reporter for the privately owned daily Al-Jarida, who has been held without charge by Sudanese security forces since Tuesday.

New York, June 13, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Thursday’s move by Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court to strike down criminal defamation, saying it is not compatible with the country’s new constitution. The court ruled that criminal defamation violated freedom of expression and that civil suits would adequately protect individuals alleging defamation, reports said.

New York, June 13, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Jordanian authorities to drop the terrorism charges and release from custody staffers of the Al-Abasiya TV station in Amman who were arrested after a recent raid and shutdown of the outlet.

New York, June 12, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Bishkek City Court’s refusal to open a new investigation into the case of Azimjon Askarov, a journalist and human rights defender who has been imprisoned in Kyrgyzstan since 2010 in retaliation for his work exposing wrongdoing. The court scrapped today an earlier decision…

New York, June 11, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the 15-year jail sentence given today to Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd el-Fattah, and at least 24 other defendants, on charges of attacking a police officer and protesting the government’s ban on unsanctioned protests. Dozens of critical voices, including journalists and political and human…

Today, Pakistan’s most watched news channel, Geo News, was ordered off the air and fined by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). Earlier this week, CPJ documented an attack on Zafar Aheer, an editor of the Urdu-language Daily Jang, by six masked men–the latest in a series of attacks, threats, and acts of intimidation…

New York, June 6, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a decision today by Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority to suspend the license of Geo News. The regulator said if the channel does not pay a fine of 10 million rupees (US$100,000) by the end of the 15-day suspension, it will remain off the air,…