Turkish journalist Ayşegül Doğan sentenced to 6 years, 3 months in prison
Istanbul, December 7, 2020 – Turkish authorities should not contest journalist Ayşegül Doğan’s appeal, and should cease filing terrorism charges against members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, the Ninth Court of Serious Crimes, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, convicted Doğan of membership in a terrorist organization, and sentenced…
Hong Kong court denies bail to Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai in fraud case
Taipei, December 3, 2020 – Magistrate Victor So Wai Tak of the West Kowloon Courts in Hong Kong today denied bail to media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai on a charge of fraud, according to news reports. He is expected to remain in jail until a court hearing on April 16, 2021, according to the reports. Lai and senior…
#HoldTheLine Coalition calls for new cyber libel charge to be dropped and pressure ceased against Maria Ressa
The #HoldTheLine Coalition condemns new legal threats against Rappler founder and CEO Maria Ressa and calls for a second, trumped-up criminal cyber libel charge to be dropped. Ressa posted bail after the new arrest warrant was filed on November 27, and will appear in court on Friday, December 4. The new cyber libel case was…
Sudan tightens cybercrime law as army pursues “fake news”
Dura Qambo was on vacation in Egypt in July when a friend called to warn her to stop criticizing the Sudanese army online, she told CPJ. Earlier that day, the army had announced on Facebook that it had appointed a Special Commissioner in May to sue anyone who insults or defames the military on the…
Bangladesh prosecutors block bail of journalist Jamal Mir
On November 10, 2020, the Dhaka High Court granted the bail of Jamal Mir, a freelance journalist who had been detained since May, but on November 15, a chamber judge in the Bangladesh Supreme Court’s appellate division blocked that order, keeping the journalist in detention, according to court documents reviewed by CPJ and Rezaur Rehman…
Ecuadorian journalist Juán Sarmiento sentenced to prison for ‘discrediting’ local official
Bogotá, November 20, 2020 – Ecuadorian authorities should not contest journalist Juan Sarmiento’s appeal of a recent criminal conviction for critical comments about a local politician, and the country should remove speech laws from its penal code, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 12, the Justice Court of Napo, in central Ecuador,…
Jamii Forums founder Maxence Melo convicted on obstruction charge, released in Tanzania
Nairobi, November 19, 2020 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern about the conviction of Maxence Melo, founder of the Tanzanian online discussion platform Jamii Forums, on charges of obstruction. On November 17, the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court acquitted Melo on charges of operating a website that was not registered in Tanzania, but…
Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono denied bail in obstruction case
New York, November 12, 2020 – Zimbabwean authorities should stop their relentless victimization of award-winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and ensure that the charges against him are dropped, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today in the capital, Harare, magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa denied Chin’ono bail on a charge of defeating or obstructing justice, claiming that the…
Belarus authorities arrest journalists, issue jail sentences, launch investigation
Vilnius, Lithuania, November 6, 2020 – Belarusian authorities should stop arresting and prosecuting journalists and allow news media to report on the country’s political situation freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, police in the capital Minsk detained Nasta Zacharevich of internet news portal Zeleny, according to the Belarusian Association of…
Journalists harassed, detained, and sentenced to jail in South Sudan
New York, November 5, 2020 — South Sudanese authorities should immediately release journalists Zechariah Makuach Maror and Jackson Ochaya and halt all acts of intimidation against the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 1, Ochaya, a reporter with the privately owned No. 1 Citizen newspaper, went missing and was later confirmed…