Legal Action

Nairobi, October 3, 2023—Authorities in Angola must drop charges of criminal defamation and insult against journalist Daniel Frederico and stop criminalizing his reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. Last week, a district court in the Angolan capital Luanda summoned Frederico, editor of news portal Reporter Angola who publishes under the pen name…

Abuja, October 3, 2023—Authorities in Nigeria should swiftly drop all charges against journalists Aiyelabegan Babatunde AbdulRazaq and Oluwatoyin Luqman Bolakale and allow them to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. On September 11, police officers detained AbdulRazaq and Bolakale, publishers of the independent news websites Just Event Online and The Satcom…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 10 other press freedom and human rights groups on Monday in calling on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take immediate and decisive action to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and a British citizen. On Tuesday, 75-year-old Lai will have…

Istanbul, September 20, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the six-month sentence issued to Turkish journalist Sinan Aygül on Tuesday, in connection with his journalistic activity. “The people charged with the vicious assault that landed journalist Sinan Aygül in hospital in June were released on bail by a Turkish court last week. This week, Aygül…

Dakar, September 20, 2023—Comoros authorities should not oppose the appeal of four journalists convicted for publicizing sexual assault allegations at the country’s public broadcaster, Comoros Radio and Television Office (ORTC), the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On August 31, four Comorian journalists appealed their August 24 convictions for defamation and insult related to the publicizing of sexual misconduct…

Berlin, September 20, 2023—France’s domestic intelligence agency should immediately release freelance journalist Ariane Lavrilleux from custody, drop all criminal investigations against her, and refrain from questioning her about her sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, September 19, police officers with the General Directorate for Internal Security, accompanied by an investigating…

New Delhi, September 15, 2023—Authorities in the east Indian state of West Bengal should drop their investigation into journalist Debmalya Bagchi and stop harassing him simply for doing his job, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On September 6, police arrested Bagchi, a correspondent for the privately owned newspaper Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP), after…

Dakar, September 12, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Guinea’s media regulator to reverse its Monday suspension order banning the privately owned news website Dépêche Guinée and its publishing director, Abdoul Latif Diallo, from printing reports for one month. “Guinea’s High Authority for Communication should immediately lift its suspension of the entire Dépêche Guinée…

September 12, 2023, Manila—The Hold the Line Coalition (HTL) welcomes Tuesday’s Regional Trial Court verdict acquitting Nobel laureate Maria Ressa and her news outlet Rappler on the final criminal tax charge leveled against them by the regime of former President Rodrigo Duterte. The judgment comes after a legal battle lasting nearly five years. If they…

São Paulo, August 28, 2023—The Paraguayan attorney general’s office should immediately retract letters sent to privately owned newspapers ABC Color and Última Hora demanding the outlets disclose the names of journalists who wrote stories about alleged money laundering, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.  On August 23, ABC Color and Última Hora received the official letters…