Polish court fines journalist Ewa Siedlecka for criminal defamation
Berlin, December 15, 2021 –Polish authorities should not contest journalist Ewa Siedlecka’s appeal of her criminal defamation conviction and should reform the country’s criminal defamation laws so they can no longer be used against journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 24, 2021, the District Court for Warsaw-Śródmieście convicted Siedlecka, a columnist…
Togo journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Joël Egah detained over online broadcast
New York, December 13, 2021 — Togolese authorities should immediately release journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Joël Egah and halt legal harassment of Isidore Kouwonou, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 9, national police officers arrested Ayité, the publication director of the privately owned L’Alternative newspaper, after he responded to a summons to…
Colombian legislature passes anti-corruption bill that threatens press freedom
Miami, December 10, 2021 – Colombian President Iván Duque should veto a portion of the anti-corruption bill recently passed by the country’s legislature that threatens press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 6, the Colombian Chamber of Representatives passed Bill 369, the “Anti-Corruption Bill,” which includes an article that could be…
Turkish President Erdoğan sues Greek and French outlets for alleged insults
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has filed lawsuits in Turkish courts against employees of the conservative Greek daily Dimokratia and the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Law, which criminalizes “insulting the president.” None of the defendants have appeared in Turkish courts, according to news reports. Erdoğan is suing…
Lebanese journalist Radwan Mortada sentenced to 13 months in prison
New York, November 29, 2021 – Lebanese authorities should drop their prosecution of journalist Radwan Mortada and refrain from imprisoning members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 26, the Permanent Military Court in Beirut sentenced Mortada, a reporter for the local daily Al-Akhbar and the news website The Cradle, to…
CPJ extremely concerned by court order restricting New York Times coverage
Washington, D.C., November 19, 2021 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed grave concern over a New York Supreme Court order restricting the New York Times’ coverage of Project Veritas. Yesterday, Judge Charles Wood issued an order blocking the newspaper from publishing materials concerning Project Veritas, a conservative nonprofit that targets groups it perceives…
Proposed Salvadoran ‘foreign agent’ law could impact media organizations
Guatemala City, November 16, 2021 – El Salvador’s congress should reject a proposed law that would require media outlets and journalists receiving funding or payments from abroad to register as “foreign agents,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Proposed by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and presented to congress on November 9, the law would…
Hong Kong refuses visa renewal for Economist correspondent Sue-Lin Wong
Taipei, November 15, 2021 – Hong Kong authorities should renew the visa of The Economist’s China correspondent, Sue-Lin Wong, and allow foreign correspondents to work freely in the city, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Hong Kong authorities refused to renew Wong’s employment visa, according to a November 12 statement by The Economist’s editor-in-chief,…
Indian police open terror investigation into 5 journalists
New Delhi, November 12, 2021 — Police in the Indian state of Tripura must immediately drop a terror investigation into journalists for their social media posts about anti-Muslim violence during the last week of October, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In a complaint filed November 3, Tripura police claimed 102 social media accounts…
Peru opens criminal investigation into Ojo Público’s Ernesto Cabral over corruption reporting
Bogotá, November 12, 2021 – Peruvian authorities should immediately drop their criminal investigation of journalist Ernesto Cabral and allow him and the Ojo Público team to work free of harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 9, Ojo Público, a Lima-based news website, reported that government prosecutors are seeking an order to…