Turkish journalist Furkan Karabay arrested again
Istanbul, May 16, 2025—Turkish authorities should immediately release freelance court reporter Furkan Karabay, who was detained during a police raid early Thursday in Istanbul, and stop detaining journalists who are trying to report the news, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. The detention marks at least Karabay’s third in recent years. Later Thursday, an Istanbul…
Pakistani journalist’s YouTube channel blocked, under investigation in drive against exiled media
New York, May 16, 2025—Pakistani authorities must immediately restore access to exiled investigative journalist Ahmad Noorani’s YouTube channel in Pakistan and stop law enforcement agencies harassing him and his family, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. “Blocking journalist Ahmad Noorani’s YouTube channel and filing a criminal case against him is indicative of Pakistan’s relentless…
7 journalist arrests in a month as Ethiopia quashes independence of media regulator
Nairobi, May 16, 2025—Journalist Ahmed Awga has been in prison for over three weeks for interviewing a man who said his 16-year-old son Shafi’i Abdikarim Ali died following a police beating — one of at least seven journalists arrested in Ethiopia in the last month as the government tightens the screws on the media. After…
Hungary’s Russian-style ‘foreign agent’ bill threatens remaining independent media
Brussels, May 15, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on European Union leaders to unequivocally and immediately condemn Hungary’s proposed “foreign agent” law, which would grant its government sweeping powers to impose restrictions on NGOs, independent media outlets and other organizations receiving foreign funding. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party introduced the bill on Tuesday in Parliament…
CPJ, 58 groups call for journalist Zhang Zhan’s immediate release on 5th anniversary of unjust arrest
New York, May 14, 2025—CPJ and 58 other press freedom and human rights groups condemned the Chinese government’s ongoing arbitrary detention of independent journalist Zhang Zhan and called for her immediate release on the fifth anniversary of her arrest. Zhang was first detained on May 14, 2020, while reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China. Zhang completed a four-year prison sentence for…
Belarus opens criminal cases against more than 60 journalists in exile
Documentary filmmaker Maryia Bulavinskaya’s love of history led her to buy a traditional wood home in the Belarusian village of Rogi-Iletsky in 2019. Her plans to renovate and eventually live in the house were put on hold in 2020 when she fled the country out of fear of being detained for her coverage of anti-government…
Azerbaijan arrests 2 more journalists, increasing crackdown tally to 25
New York, May 9, 2025— After 18 months, Azerbaijan’s vast media crackdown shows no signs of abating, as police arrested two independent journalists, Ulviyya Ali and Ahmad Mammadli, on the night of May 6-7. The arrests bring the total number of journalists and media workers jailed in Azerbaijan since late 2023 to at least 25,…
7 Salvadorian journalists face charges after report on president’s alleged gang ties
Mexico City, May 7, 2025—Salvadoran authorities should drop all criminal proceedings against journalists with El Faro, after the independent news site published video interviews with two gang leaders about their alleged years-long relationship with President Nayib Bukele, said the Committee to Protect Journalists Wednesday. “Treating journalism as a criminal act deprives Salvadorans of essential information,” said Cristina Zahar, CPJ’s Latin America…
Senegal Supreme Court upholds journalist René Capain Bassène’s lifetime prison sentence
Dakar, May 7, 2025— Senegalese authorities should end the persecution of journalist René Capain Bassène, whose lifetime prison sentence was upheld by the Senegal Supreme Court in a May 2 decision, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday. “It is deeply worrying that René Capain Bassène’s life sentence has been upheld despite all the flaws in the investigation that led to his imprisonment and the documented…
YouTube channel blocked, journalist assaulted, commentators charged after Kashmir attack in India
New Delhi, May 6, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by a series of incidents in India involving the silencing, assault, and legal harassment of journalists and political commentators following the April 22 deadly attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir that left 26 tourists dead. “CPJ urges Indian authorities to ensure that responses…