Legal Action

Abuja, November 26, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerian authorities to release journalist Friday James Alefia, who has been in detention since September on cybercrime charges, for which he could face up to three years in jail. “Nigerian authorities should swiftly drop the cybercrime charges against journalist Friday James Alefia, who has been…

Bangkok, November 20, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Thailand to immediately drop criminal defamation charges against Australian journalist Murray Hunter, return his passport, and stop the country’s courts from serving as vehicles for transnational legal intimidation. Hunter, a Thailand-based journalist who has contributed to various international news publications, was indicted on…

The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined an amicus brief, authored by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), in support of the Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation’s lawsuit against the Trump administration’s visa and deportation policies in connection with First Amendment rights for non-citizens. The Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation, which publishes Stanford University’s…

Abuja, November 14, 2025—At least three journalists in Nigeria have been detained since August on allegations of violating the country’s Cybercrime Act, despite last year’s reform of the law, highlighting its ongoing use to harass the media. One journalist, known under the pen name Fejiro Oliver, has been behind bars since mid-September. “Nigerian authorities appear…

Bangkok, November 12, 2025—Myanmar authorities must immediately drop charges against AAMIJ News, release its freelance contributor Myat Thu Kyaw, who has been in prison since January 2023, and stop harassing independent media covering election-related news, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On November 10, Myanmar’s military government filed charges against exile-run AAMIJ News for…

Mexico City, November 11, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Chilean authorities to stop the harassment and intimidation of journalists by politicians, who filed two separate criminal defamation cases against independent news outlets this week. “We are increasingly concerned about the misuse of lawsuits and judicial powers in Chile, particularly criminal defamation cases against…

Dakar, November 7, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerien authorities to free journalists Ibro Chaibou, Youssouf Sériba, and Oumarou Abou Kané who were remanded in southern Niger’s Kollo prison on November 3. The three were initially arrested on October 30 and are accused of sending an invitation to a government news conference to…

New York, November 7, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists and partners welcomed a Philippine court’s decision to quash the murder charges against community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and called on authorities to drop all remaining charges against her. The 26-year-old journalist has been held in detention for nearly six years since her arrest in February 2020 on charges of…

Lusaka, November 4, 2025—The Swazi Bridge news site in Eswatini is facing a record-breaking claim for 170 million emalangeni (US$9.8 million) in damages and the threat of terrorism investigations, as part of a growing global trend of using abusive lawsuits to suppress public interest reporting. The Farmers Bank and its director John Asfar alleged defamation…

The Committee to Protect Journalists in a Friday letter called on U.S. Secretary of State Rubio to clarify recent decisions to revoke visas. Under the second Trump administration, the State Department has revoked visas for international journalists, as well as commentators and writers, in connection with their reporting or speech on foreign affairs. On October 26, British commentator Sami…