Niger journalists Moussa Aksar and Samira Sabou convicted, fined under cybercrime act
New York, January 13, 2022 — Nigerien authorities should not contest the appeals of journalists Moussa Aksar and Samira Sabou, and should reform the country’s cybercrime law to ensure it is not used to prosecute the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 3, the High Court in Niamey, Niger’s capital, convicted…
Turkish journalist Rojhat Doğru sentenced to life in prison
Istanbul, January 10, 2022 – Turkish authorities should not contest journalist Rojhat Doğru’s appeal, and should cease sentencing members of the press to lengthy jail terms for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 6, the Eighth Diyarbakır Court of Serious Crimes sentenced Doğru, a Turkey-based camera operator who covered conflict…
Algerian journalist Merzoug Touati sentenced to 1 year in prison
New York, January 4, 2022 – Algerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Merzoug Touati and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 28, 2021, police arrested Touati, editor of the independent news website Al-Hogra, after he appeared at a police station in the northern city of…
Multi-year prison terms for Egyptian journalists Alaa Abdelfattah and Mohamed Oxygen ‘unacceptable’
New York, December 20, 2021 – In response to a Cairo court’s sentencing today of journalists Alaa Abdelfattah and Mohamed Oxygen to multi-year prison terms, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “Egypt’s sentencing of journalists Alaa Abdelfattah and Mohamed Oxygen to years in prison is unacceptable, and demonstrates the lengths…
CPJ’s Steven Butler: China’s sentencing of Jimmy Lai over Tiananmen Square vigil is ‘despicable’
Taipei, December 13, 2021 — In response to a Hong Kong court’s decision today to sentence Jimmy Lai, founder of the Next Digital media company and the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, to 13 months imprisonment over his alleged connection to a 2020 vigil marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Committee to Protect…
Lebanese journalist Radwan Mortada sentenced to 13 months in prison
New York, November 29, 2021 – Lebanese authorities should drop their prosecution of journalist Radwan Mortada and refrain from imprisoning members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 26, the Permanent Military Court in Beirut sentenced Mortada, a reporter for the local daily Al-Akhbar and the news website The Cradle, to…
Iraqi Kurdish court extends journalist Omed Baroshky’s prison sentence by 1 year
New York, September 23, 2021 — In response to an Erbil court’s ruling today to extend the imprisonment of Iraqi Kurdish journalist Omed Baroshky by one year, the Committee to Protect Journalists has called on authorities drop the charges against him and end harassment of reporters. “Today’s sentencing of freelance journalist Omed Baroshky to an…
Turkish court sentences 5 journalists to prison over alleged role in 2016 coup
Istanbul, September 22, 2021 – Turkish authorities should not contest the appeals of five journalists recently sentenced to prison for their alleged involvement with a banned group, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Second Antalya Court of Serious Crimes convicted Cihat Ünal, Ömer Özdemir, Serhat Şeftali, Olgun Matur, and Osman Yakut on…
Two Kurdish Iranian journalists sentenced to 2.5 years in jail, 90 lashes
Washington, D.C., August 10, 2021 – Iranian authorities should not subject journalists Sharam Amjadian and Morteza Haq-Bayan to imprisonment or lashes, and should stop prosecuting members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 3, Branch 104 of the Sanandaj Penal Court, in the province of Iranian Kurdistan,…
Moroccan journalist Omar Radi sentenced to 6 years in prison; Imad Stitou convicted of complicity
New York, July 19, 2021 – In response to a Casablanca court’s decision today to sentence Moroccan investigative journalist Omar Radi to six years in prison and journalist Imad Stitou to six months, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We strongly condemn the sentencing today in Morocco of journalists Imad Stitou and…