Nigerian journalist detained after republishing article about Ogun state governor
Abuja, May 20, 2022 — Nigerian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Olamilekan Hammed Adewale Bashiru, who has been arbitrarily detained since May 13, and allow him to work without intimidation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On May 13, Nigerian Department of State Security (DSS) officers arrested Bashiru, founder of the privately…
Georgian pro-opposition journalist Nika Gvaramia sentenced to 3.5 years in prison
New York, May 20, 2022 – Georgian authorities should release journalist Nika Gvaramia and allow him and all other press members in Georgia to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Monday, May 16, the City Court in the Georgian capital Tbilisi convicted Gvaramia, a TV presenter and general director at pro-opposition…
Guatemalan official files criminal suit against 3 journalists under violence against women law
Guatemala City, May 18, 2022 — Guatemalan authorities should drop all charges against three journalists from the independent newspaper elPeriódico and stop using laws intended to protect women from violence to target and intimidate reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On May 13, Judge Anaelsee Ramírez formally notified elPeriódico publisher José Rubén Zamora,…
Two Estonian journalists fined over article on money laundering
On April 14, 2022, a court in Estonia fined journalists Tarmo Vahter and Sulev Vedler, of the weekly newspaper Eesti Ekspress, 1,000 euros (US$1,040) each for an article about alleged money laundering at one of the country’s largest banks, Swedbank, according to a report by Estonian public broadcaster ERR News and the journalists, who communicated…
Proposed Russian legislation threatens to shut down all independent media
Paris, May 18, 2022 – The Russian State Duma should withdraw a draft law that would facilitate the arbitrary shutdown of media outlets and increase the number of journalists prosecuted for sharing information, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. The State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s legislature, is set to consider legislation that…
Senegal broadcasters Sen TV and ZIK FM suspended 72 hours over alleged breach of ethics
On March 31, 2022, Senegal’s official broadcast media regulator, the National Council for Audiovisual Regulation (known by its French acronym, CNRA), announced a 72-hour suspension of all programing by local broadcasters ZIK FM and Sen TV for “repeated breaches of ethics” that violated “principles of objectivity, neutrality, fairness, and balance,” according to a press release…
Journalist Iryna Danylovych charged, detained by Russian authorities in Crimea
Paris, May 16, 2022 — Russian authorities in Ukraine’s Crimea must drop all charges against journalist Iryna Danylovych, release her immediately, and cease prosecuting journalists for their reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On May 11, Danylovych, a Crimea-based journalist who went missing on April 29, was found by her lawyer in a…
CPJ condemns Cuba’s new penal code as a threat to independent media
Miami, May 16, 2022 – In response to news reports that on Sunday, May 15, the Cuban National Assembly passed an amendment to the penal code that could severely damage independent journalism, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement expressing alarm: “We are alarmed by the passage of Cuba’s new penal code, which further criminalizes the…
Suriname journalist detained, investigated on defamation charges after reporting on police
Miami, May 9, 2022 – Surinamese authorities should stop detaining and charging journalists for their work and scrap the country’s criminal defamation laws, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 3, journalist Mones Nazarali turned himself in at the police headquarters in the city of Nieuw Nickerie, in Suriname’s Nickerie district, after being…
How China is stepping up harassment of foreign correspondents
When international journalists rushed to Zhengzhou city in Henan province to cover a deadly flood in July 2021, they were confronted by angry bystanders who accused them of “spreading rumors” and “smearing China.” Many also received harassing messages on social media and intimidating calls, according to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. This hostility spread after the Henan Communist Youth…