Legal Action

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…

Dakar, July 17, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Beninese authorities to release Comlan Hugues Sossoukpè, publishing director of the banned online Beninese weekly newspaper Olofofo Info, following his arrest in Ivory Coast on July 10 and extradition to Benin. “The forcible transfer of journalist Comlan Hugues Sossoukpé by Ivory Coast to Benin, despite his refugee status in…

On July 16, CPJ and nine other organizations wrote to the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about reforms needed to address ongoing media freedom concerns in the country.  The letter notes the persistence of serious issues in Greece, including surveillance, threats, harassment, physical attacks, and murders of journalists. It also cites government pressure on editorial…

New York, July 15, 2025—President Sadyr Japarov signed amendments to the Kyrgyz Code of Offenses on July 8, introducing administrative penalties for spreading “false or unreliable” information via mass media or the internet — another in a series of ongoing moves toward cracking down on the country’s independent press. The law, whose signing was announced July 11, will go…

Dakar, July 14, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Senegalese authorities to release news commentator Badara Gadiaga, to cease arresting journalists, and to refrain from retaliating against the media for coverage critical of the government.  Senegal’s special cybersecurity division (DSC) arrested Gadiaga on July 9 over his remarks during a July 4 broadcast about Prime Minister…

Batumi, Georgia, July 14, 2025一Monday’s court hearing in the case of Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli shows the disproportionate and politicized nature of the charges against her and she must be released immediately, said three international press freedom organizations whose representatives monitored the proceedings.  In response to the hearing, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International…

New York, July 11, 2025—A Kyrgyzstan court issued an order Wednesday shuttering independent broadcaster Aprel TV and terminating its broadcasting and social media operations, claiming the outlet undermined the government’s authority and negatively influenced individuals and society.  The ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed against the outlet by Kyrgyz prosecutors in April, which…

Nazareth, Israel, July 9, 2025—Israel’s 12-day war with Iran provided Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government with an opportunity to step up its assault on the press — a trend that has since continued apace. “Media freedom is often a casualty of war, and Israel’s recent war with Iran is no exception. We have seen Israeli…

Washington, D.C., July 7, 2025— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities to respect an immigration court ruling and release on bail journalist Mario Guevara, a native of El Salvador who has been legally in the U.S. for the past 20 years. On Monday, ICE denied Guevara’s…

New York July 2, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Zimbabwean authorities to release newspaper editor Faith Zaba, who was arrested on July 1. She is facing charges of “undermining or insulting the authority of the president” in connection with a satirical column. “This case sends the message that Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and…