Pegasus spyware targeted exiled journalists from Russia, Latvia, Belarus, report finds
New York, May 30, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by a Thursday report by rights group Access Now and research organization Citizen Lab alleging that Pegasus spyware was used to surveil at least five journalists. The report, “Exiled, then spied on: Civil society in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland targeted with Pegasus spyware,”…
CPJ calls for an investigation into the targeting of journalists with Pegasus spyware in Jordan
Beirut, February 1, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is highly alarmed by the targeting of journalists with Pegasus spyware in Jordan and repeats its calls for an immediate moratorium on the sale, transfer, and use of such surveillance technologies, as well as a ban on spyware and its vendors that facilitate human rights…
Pegasus spyware used to target Togolese journalists Loïc Lawson and Anani Sossou
New York, January 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by findings that the phones of Togolese journalists Loïc Lawson and Anani Sossou were infected with Pegasus spyware in 2021, and repeats its calls for an immediate moratorium on the use of such surveillance technologies and for legal proceedings against the journalists to be…
Azerbaijani anti-corruption journalists Ulvi Hasanli and Sevinj Vagifgizi detained for 4 months
Stockholm, November 21, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Azerbaijani authorities to release Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli and chief editor Sevinj Vagifgizi and to disclose the whereabouts of Hasanli’s assistant, Mahammad Kekalov, who has been missing since Monday. A district court in the capital of Baku on Tuesday ordered that Hasanli and Vagifgizi remain…
Morocco expels French journalists Quentin Müller and Thérèse Di Campo
Around 3 a.m. on September 20, about 10 plainclothes police officers arrested French journalists Quentin Müller and Thérèse Di Campo in their hotel in Morocco’s largest city, Casablanca, and expelled them for their reporting on the rule of King Mohamed VI – a topic considered taboo in the country. Müller, a staff reporter with the…
Apple warns Latvia-based journalists about possible hacker attacks
New York, September 15, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday issued an urgent call for authorities to investigate allegations that journalists working in Latvia were targeted by state-sponsored hackers. CPJ’s call follows reports on Thursday—a day after the disclosure that the phone of exiled Russian journalist Galina Timchenko had been infected by Pegasus spyware—that…
Investigation finds Russian journalist Galina Timchenko targeted by Pegasus spyware
New York, September 13, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists said that it is deeply disturbed by the findings of an investigation released Wednesday by rights organizations that the phone of Galina Timchenko, head of the independent Russian news website Meduza, was infected by Pegasus surveillance spyware while she was in Germany earlier this year. “CPJ…
At least 5 members of the press covering Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict targeted by Pegasus spyware: report
Stockholm, May 25, 2023—In response to a report released Thursday by a group of rights organizations alleging that Pegasus spyware was used to surveil at least five Armenian members of the press who covered the country’s military conflict with Azerbaijan, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Today’s report is yet another deeply…
Mexican President López Obrador repeatedly criticizes news outlets and press freedom group over spyware coverage
Mexico City, May 11, 2023—Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador must stop making baseless criticisms of local news outlets and the international free expression organization Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Since March, López Obrador has sharply criticized Article 19, national investigative magazine Proceso, privately owned online news outlets Animal Político and…
CPJ joins call for Indian government to withdraw latest amendment to Information Technology Rules
Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, May 3, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined 16 press freedom and human rights organizations in a Tuesday statement calling on the Indian government to review and withdraw the overbroad provisions of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, and to withdraw the latest amendment to the rules, announced…