State of Emergency

20 results arranged by date

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is seen in Brasilia on March 20, 2020. Bolsonaro recently passed a provisional regulation restricting access to public records. (Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino)

Brazil restricts access to government information amid COVID-19 emergency

Rio de Janeiro, March 26, 2020 — Brazilian authorities should not use the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to restrict access to government information, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Police officers are seen in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 26, 2020. The Thai government has imposed a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and has restricted the press. (AP/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand declares state of emergency, imposes press restrictions

Bangkok, March 26, 2020 — Thailand should uphold press freedom and refrain from harassing and restricting reporters while emergency rule is imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Soldiers wearing face masks are seen in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on March 17, 2020. The Honduran government recently declared a state of emergency over the COVID-19 outbreak, and suspended the right to free expression. (Reuters/Jorge Cabrera)

Honduran government declares state of emergency, suspends right to free expression

New York, March 18, 2020 — Honduran authorities must immediately lift newly imposed restrictions on free expression and let members of the press cover the news freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega, center, pictured on his release from jail in February 2018. Ethiopian authorities rearrested Eskinder and at least four other journalists on March 25 under the country's current state of emergency. (AFP/Yonas Tadesse)

Ethiopia arrests at least five journalists during state of emergency

Nairobi, March 26, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Ethiopian authorities to release five journalists. Security forces yesterday arrested Eskinder Nega, Temesghen Desalegn, Zone 9 bloggers Befekadu Hailu and Mahlet Fantahun, and Zelalem Workagegnehu, who were gathered at Temesghen’s house in Addis Ababa, according to reports and a statement by the Swiss-based Association…

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Police patrol in Addis Ababa. Security officers detained a critical blogger near the Woliso campus of Ethiopia's Ambo University. (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

Ethiopia arrests critical blogger Seyoum Teshome

Nairobi, March 9, 2018–Ethiopian authorities should immediately release Seyoum Teshome, who publishes the Ethiothinktank blog, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security forces yesterday arrested Seyoum at his home near the Woliso campus of Ambo University, where he lectures, according to witnesses who spoke with Voice of America and Deutsche Welle. The reason for…

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The skyline of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, in January 2017. Press freedom conditions remain stark, with journalists jailed or facing legal action, internet shutdowns, and reports of surveillance. (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

Why release of two journalists in Ethiopia does not signal end to press crackdown

On January 10, radio journalists Darsema Sori and Khalid Mohammed were released from prison after serving lengthy sentences related to their work at the Ethiopian faith-based station Radio Bilal. Despite their release and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s promise earlier this month to free political prisoners, Ethiopia’s use of imprisonment, harassment, and surveillance means that the…

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A poster, pictured in Cairo in October 2017, calls for President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to run in elections. Egypt's March vote will be held while the state of emergency is still in place. (Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Ahead of March elections, Egypt extends state of emergency and tightens censorship

The New York Times reported this week that Egypt ordered a criminal investigation into the paper over its report alleging that an intelligence officer told several TV hosts they should persuade viewers to accept President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The investigation comes in the same week that Egypt’s parliament voted…

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Egypt's President Sisi, pictured in Cairo in March 2017, has declared a state of emergency and said the press needs to be more responsible. (AFP/Khaled Desouki)

Egypt’s state of emergency may act to further silence press

Hours after two bombs ripped through packed Palm Sunday services in Coptic Churches in Alexandria and Tanta on April 9, killing nearly 50 people, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced a three-month state of emergency. The measure is in many ways an extension of what has already been in place in parts of the Sinai…

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Police fire tear gas during a festival in Ethiopia's Oromia region. After months of protests, authorities have imposed a state of emergency that includes blocking access to social media. (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

Ethiopia’s state of emergency cuts lines of communication and puts bloggers at risk of arrest

On October 4, I heard that my friend Natnael Feleke had not returned home even though it was approaching midnight in Ethiopia. Family and friends were discussing where to search for the blogger, who had only been released 11 months earlier from the notorious Kilinto prison, where he was held for 16 months over his…

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Members of police special forces keep watch from an armored vehicle in front of a courthouse in Ankara, Turkey, on July 18, 2016. (Reuters/Baz Ratner)

CPJ, 25 other organizations call on Turkey to revoke state of emergency

A coalition of 26 international media freedom and human rights advocacy groups, including CPJ, today called on Turkey to lift emergency measures that have resulted in the stifling of criticism and dissent; the detention of large numbers of individuals, including more than 100 journalists; and the removal of fair trial protections and safeguards against torture.…

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