Legal Action

New York, August 13, 2025—As closing arguments are set to begin on August 14 in the national security trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against the 77-year-old publisher and release him immediately and unconditionally. Lai, whose…

New Delhi, August 12, 2025—Sri Lankan authorities must immediately stop harassing photojournalist Kanapathipillai Kumanan, who has been summoned by the counterterrorism police for questioning, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. A police notice, reviewed by CPJ, ordered Kumanan to appear in the northern town of Alampil’s Counter Terrorism and Investigation Division (CTID) office on…

Kinshasa, August 7, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to swiftly release Glody Ndaya, director general of the privately owned news site Eventsrdc.com, and freelance commentator Espérant Kasongo.  “DRC authorities should unconditionally release journalists Glody Ndaya and Espérant Kasongo and end the use of laws that have censorious…

New York, August 6, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is horrified by the two-year sentence given to prominent Georgian media manager Mzia Amaglobeli on Wednesday, in a case previously denounced by CPJ and partners as “disproportionate and politicized.” “The outrageous two-year sentence meted out to widely respected journalist Mzia Amaglobeli is emblematic of Georgia’s increasing use…

New York, August 1, 2025—On March 5, in a crowded Dhaka courtroom, journalist Farzana Rupa stood without a lawyer as a judge moved to register yet another murder case against her. Already in jail, she quietly asked for bail. The judge said the hearing was only procedural. “There are already a dozen cases piling up against me,” she said….

Kampala, July 31, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Burundi authorities to immediately release La Nova Burundi reporter Sandra Muhoza, who remains in prison two months after an appeal court ruled that she was convicted by a court that did not have jurisdiction to try her, following her 2024 arrest. “It is a grave injustice that Sandra…

New York, July 31, 2025—Ahead of Friday’s expected verdict in the trial of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 13 other media and human rights groups called on Georgian authorities to drop the charge against her and release her. Amaglobeli, founder and director of award-winning independent news outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, has…

New York, July 22, 2025—Georgian authorities seized the financial accounts of independent news outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti over tax arrears, days ahead of an expected verdict in the trial of the outlets’ director, Mzia Amaglobeli, who has been jailed since January on charges widely viewed as politically motivated. “The unwarranted seizure of Batumelebi and Netgazeti’s…

Mexico City, July 22, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a gag order placed on reporter-editor Jorge Luis González Valdez and the newspaper Tribuna by a court in the southeastern Mexican state of Campeche. CPJ calls on Gov. Layda Sansores to immediately cease any judicial harassment of the journalist and the publication over…

Lusaka, July 21, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the Malawi Constitutional Court’s landmark July 16 ruling striking down Section 200 of the penal code criminalizing defamation. “Malawi’s Constitutional Court has taken a monumental step towards protecting press freedom and affirmed that criticism and dissent are essential to democracy by ruling criminal defamation to be unconstitutional,” said…