Poland charges Spanish freelance reporter with spying for Russia
UPDATE, October 18, 2024: Polish authorities accused Pablo González, also known as Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov, a Spanish-Russian citizen, of being an agent for Russia’s intelligence services. Since his arrest in February 2022, he had been held in pre-trial detention and was released to Russia in August 2024, as part of a prisoner exchange. Recent reports…
Dozhd TV editor Tikhon Dzyadko on why he fled Russia and shut his broadcaster down
Russian independent broadcaster Dozhd TV announced during a live broadcast on Thursday that it would suspend its operations after Russia’s media regulator blocked its website for spreading “deliberately false information about the actions of Russian military personnel.” Dozhd TV had drawn the ire of Russian authorities because of it used the word “invasion” to report on Russia’s war in…
Proposed Russian legislation threatens 15 years in prison for ‘fake’ information about Ukraine invasion
Paris, March 3, 2022 – Russian lawmakers should not pass a draft law that would threaten to imprison journalists for sharing information about the country’s recent invasion of Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. The State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s legislature, is scheduled to consider legislation on Friday that would impose…
Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury faces Digital Security Act proceedings
On May 6, 2021, Shahana Rashid Sanu, a poet and literary writer, filed a complaint against Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, editor of the tabloid Weekly Blitz, at the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal, pointing to eight articles published on its website, which accused Sanu and her sons of engaging in criminal and anti-government activities, according to a…
‘Completely unclear’: Mushtaq Ahmed’s lawyer seeks answers on how the Bangladeshi writer died in jail
One year after renowned Bangladeshi writer Mushtaq Ahmed died in jail, the circumstances of his death remain murky. While an investigative committee formed by the Home Ministry claimed he died of “natural causes,” his former lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua believes that Ahmed may have died of health issues that arose after alleged torture. In May 2020, the Rapid Action Battalion,…
Attorney general in Brazil files criminal defamation complaint against journalist Thiago Herdy
Rio de Janeiro, February 23, 2022 – Authorities in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state should not pursue criminal defamation charges against journalist Thiago Herdy, and should refrain from criminally investigating journalists in retaliation for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On February 16, Minas Gerais state Attorney General Jarbas Soares Júnior filed a…
Spanish court orders investigation of 4 journalists over testimony in police abuse case
Berlin, February 23, 2022 – Spanish authorities should drop their criminal investigations into four journalists over their coverage of alleged police abuses, and should ensure that members of the press do not face criminal charges over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On February 16, the Provincial Court of Madrid acquitted a…
Pakistan expands prison terms for online defamation to 5 years
New York, February 22, 2022 – Pakistan authorities must immediately revoke a recently enacted ordinance that further criminalizes freedom of expression in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Sunday, February 20, President Arif Alvi enacted amendments to the 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, increasing the prison term for online defamation…
Ethiopia ends emergency, but pursues new cases against 3 detained journalists
Nairobi, February 18, 2022— Ethiopian authorities should drop any plans to charge two journalists, Amir Aman Kiyaro and Thomas Engida, with terrorism, stop a fresh investigation they are pursuing against editor Temerat Negara, and end the practice of punitively detaining journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Amir, a freelancer who contributes to The…
Authorities investigate 3 Cape Verde journalists after reporting on police killing
Authorities in Cape Verde in January and February 2022 opened investigations into three journalists for “qualified disobedience,” in connection with their reporting on a classified investigation into a police killing, which allegedly involves a minister and, after seven years, produced no suspects, according to the journalists and news reports. On January 26, 2022, Hermínio Silves,…