Legal Action

Tacloban City, January 22, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday condemned the harsh 12- to 18-year prison sentence handed down to Philippine journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio after she was found guilty of financing terrorism, and called on authorities to immediately free her and stop targeting journalists. “This absurd verdict shows that the various pledges…

Abuja, January 21, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ghanaian authorities to protect public interest reporting after a court fined Innocent Samuel Appiah for asking a businesswoman to comment on allegations of fraud as he was investigating her activities. Justice Nana Brew ruled that freelance journalist Appiah had violated the privacy of Cynthia Adjei,…

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined an amicus brief, authored by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), in support of the New York Times’s lawsuit against the United States Department of Defense’s recent restrictions on press access to the Pentagon. Under the new policy, the Department may deny or revoke a…

Pakistan’s government has stepped up the use of in absentia convictions and arrest warrants against Pakistani journalists living overseas since late 2025, highlighting an escalating crackdown by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government on critical reporting and commentary that extends beyond domestic borders. In early January, four foreign-based Pakistani journalists and commentators were convicted on the…

Miami, January 16, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Haitian authorities to rescind a decree that broadens criminal defamation laws after Haiti’s ruling body, the Transitional Presidential Council, published the decree without prior public discussion. “The Transitional Presidential Council is in place to provide stability at a time of deep upheaval in Haiti. Measures like…

January 16, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Azerbaijani authorities to stop targeting exiled journalists after a court sentenced U.S.-based journalist Sevinj Osmanqizi on January 14 to eight years in prison in absentia on charges of calling for mass unrest and the overthrow of the state. The ruling follows a seven-year sentence handed down on December 23 to…

Bangkok, January 16, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges authorities in Vietnam to roll back a crackdown on independent media and release imprisoned journalists ahead of next week’s Communist Party congress. On December 31, Hanoi’s People’s Court convicted Le Trung Khoa, editor and founder of the Germany-based news site Toibao.de, in absentia and sentenced him…

The Committee to Protect Journalists has submitted a 10-page report to the United Nations Human Rights Council detailing the alarming decline of press freedom in Lebanon, ahead of the country’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session this month. The UPR, a UN mechanism that reviews each member state’s human rights record every 4 ½ years, assesses…

Update: After publication, the Washington Post reported in an update that its newsroom has also been subpoenaed.  Washington, D.C., January 14, 2026—Federal agents with the FBI have made a highly unusual move of searching the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, and seizing her electronic devices, in a move that the Committee to…

The Committee to Protect Journalists and a coalition of press freedom organizations are urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to immediately and unconditionally release journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, a week before a Philippine court is set to rule in the first of two cases that could see her jailed for up to 40 years. Cumpio, who…