New El Salvador law threatens up to 15 years in prison for reporting on gangs
New York, April 7, 2022 – El Salvador lawmakers should repeal new legislation that criminalizes reporting on gangs, and should allow the press to cover issues of public interest freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “As journalists and press freedom organizations have feared, Salvadoran authorities are using the country’s state of emergency as…
CPJ condemns decision to move Jamal Khashoggi murder trial from Turkey to Saudi Arabia
New York, April 7, 2022 – In response to a decision by Turkish authorities on Thursday, April 7, to transfer the trial of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “The Turkish government’s trial of Jamal Khashoggi’s suspected killers was politicized…
Georgia convicts 26 people over 2021 attack on journalists by anti-LGBT protesters
New York, April 7, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday welcomed Georgian authorities’ recent convictions of 26 people over their attacks on journalists during mob violence in July 2021. “We welcome the convictions of 26 people for their part in last July’s mob attack on dozens of Georgian journalists, including the brutal…
Guatemalan journalist Juan Luis Font leaves the country after former official accuses him of ‘unlawful association’
Guatemala City, April 6, 2022 — Guatemalan authorities should immediately dismiss criminal proceedings against journalist Juan Luis Font, allow him to work freely without fear of reprisal, and stop using lawsuits to harass members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. In late March 2022, the country’s former communications minister Alejandro Sinibaldi…
Zambian journalist Eric Chiyuka charged with assault after covering land altercation
Lusaka, April 6, 2022 – Zambian authorities must investigate an alleged police assault of community reporter Eric Chiyuka and immediately drop the charges of assault against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Around 11 a.m. on March 26, Chiyuka, who works for the ruling party-aligned, privately owned online publication CIC Press, was taking…
Hungarian journalists fear Orbán will use election win to tighten grip on independent media
As Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán celebrated his landslide election win on Sunday with jubilant jibes at the European Union’s “bureaucrats in Brussels” and international media, the country’s independent journalists braced themselves for an even harsher media climate during his Fidesz party’s unprecedented fourth consecutive term in office. Orbán has systematically eroded Hungary’s independent…
Indian journalist Rana Ayyub on facing death threats and a money laundering probe
Rana Ayyub, is one of India’s most high-profile investigative journalists, with a Washington Post column, a Substack newsletter, a popular Twitter presence with an audience of 1.5 million, as well as a controversial 2016 book alleging that government officials were implicated in the 2002 riots that killed Muslims in Gujarat. But in recent months Indian…
Turkish lawmakers propose up to 3 years in prison for ‘hurting the reputation’ of a private company
Istanbul, March 31, 2022 – Turkish authorities should reject a proposed amendment to the country’s laws that would threaten members of the press with prison time over their reporting on private companies, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On March 26, members of parliament with Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) proposed a…
CPJ condemns ‘unjustified’ block on journalist Rana Ayyub leaving India
New Delhi, March 30, 2022 – Indian authorities should immediately reverse their decision to block journalist Rana Ayyub from traveling outside India, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Tuesday, immigration officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in the western city of Mumbai stopped Ayyub, an investigative journalist and a Washington Post commentator…
Namibian journalists investigated for trespassing for drone journalism
On February 12, 2022, at around 5 p.m., Namibian police briefly detained freelance investigative reporters John Grobler and Nrupesh Soni for allegedly trespassing at GoHunt Namibia Safaris’ farm in the Omaheke region, east of Windhoek, the capital, because they used a drone to film elephants on private property, according to the journalists, who spoke to…