Cuba sentences journalist Roberto Quiñones to one-year prison term
Miami, August 8, 2019–A municipal court of the Cuban city of Guantánamo yesterday sentenced Roberto Jesús Quiñones, a contributor to the news website CubaNet, to one year in prison on charges of “resistance” and “disobedience,” according to advocacy group Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and of the Press and media reports.
Ukraine court orders Hromadske TV to pay costs in case over C14 tweet
On August 6, 2019, the Kiev Commercial Court ruled that a tweet posted by the independent news outlet Hromadske TV in May 2018 had harmed the reputation of C14, a Ukrainian nationalist group, according to Hromadske TV and other outlets.
Moscow police detain, assault journalists covering protests
Washington, D.C., August 8, 2019–Russian authorities should allow journalists to cover protests freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today, after the detention of several journalists and the use of force by police against the media during demonstrations in Moscow on July 27 and August 3.
Turkish court orders service providers to block access to news sites
Istanbul, August 6, 2019–An Ankara court on July 16 ordered Turkish internet service providers to block access in Turkey to 136 web addresses, independent news website Bianet reported today. The blocked addresses include the websites of news outlets Bianet, ETHA news agency, Halkın Sesi TV, Özgür Gelecek, osp.org, geziyisavunuyoruz.org, Gazete Fersude, Yeni Demokratik Gençlik, Umut…
Sudan detains Sadiq al-Rizaigi, Al-Sayha editor-in-chief and journalists’ union head, for 5 days
Sudanese authorities detained Sadiq al-Rizaigi, the editor-in-chief of privately owned newspaper Al-Sayha and head of the Sudanese Journalists’ Union, on July 24, 2019, according to AFP and Sudanese broadcaster Radio Dabanga. He was held without charge until he was released on July 29, according to the Sudan Tribune and the Sudanese Journalists’ Union.
CPJ calls on India to ensure access to internet and communications services in Kashmir
New York, August 5, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed alarm at reports of a communication blackout and the arrest of a journalist in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir state amid an escalating political crisis.
Russian journalist Mikhail Romanov found guilty of ‘abuse of freedom of information’ and ‘false’ news
Washington, D.C., August 2, 2019–Journalist Mikhail Romanov, a correspondent with the weekly Yakutsk Vecherniy, was found guilty on July 25 by the city court of Yakutsk, in eastern Russia, on charges of “abuse of freedom of information by publishing false information that poses a threat to the public,” according to news reports. He was fined…
From conflict zones to courtrooms, Myanmar’s journalists are under fire
Hopes for greater press freedom when Myanmar moved to quasi-democratic rule were quickly quashed with the jailing in 2017 of two Reuters reporters. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have their freedom again, but journalists and press freedom activists who met with CPJ’s Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn Crispin in Yangon in June said that…
Chinese court sentences journalist Huang Qi to 12 years in prison
Taipei, July 29, 2019 — The Mianyang Intermediate People’s Court today sentenced Huang Qi, publisher of the human rights news website 64 Tianwang, to 12 years in prison on charges of “deliberately leaking state secrets,” and “illegally providing state secrets to foreign countries,” according to a statement published on the court’s website.