RFE/RL’s staff receive death threats ahead of Uzbekistan presidential election
New York, October 21, 2021 – Authorities in Uzbekistan should swiftly investigate threats received by employees of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and ensure that they can work safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 16, anonymous users of the Telegram messaging app sent dozens of death threats to…
Polish police search journalist’s home, seize equipment over alleged threats to legislator
Berlin, October 6, 2021 — Polish authorities should stop harassing journalist Piotr Bakselerowicz, return his equipment, and respect the confidentiality of his sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 2, four officers from the Warsaw Police Department, two of whom carried guns, searched the apartment of Bakselerowicz, a reporter for the independent…
Syrian journalists fear for their lives despite the end of the siege of Daraa al-Balad
On September 9, the Syrian Army and its allies lifted their two-and-a half-month siege of the district of Daraa al-Balad in southern Syria under a Russian-brokered ceasefire with local rebels. The deal is the latest chapter in the long saga of the district, a cradle of the 2011 revolution that was recaptured by Syrian Army…
Mob in Uttar Pradesh locked journalists in room with plan to light them on fire
On August 28, 2021, a mob locked journalists Sarfaraz Warsi, Nitin Srivastava, Razi Siddiqui, and Fakhar-e-Alam in a room and discussed setting them on fire in Barabanki district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, according to news website News18, a partnership between CNN International and Indian broadcaster TV18, and Warsi and Srivastava, who spoke…
BBC news crew threatened by COVID-19 protesters in UK
Berlin, September 14, 2021 — United Kingdom authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the threats against journalist Phillip Norton and his crew and ensure their safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 28, demonstrators protesting the government’s measures to curb COVID-19 in Scarborough, a resort town on England’s North…
Ecuadorian journalist Virginia Suárez receives death threats
Bogotá, September 2, 2021 – Ecuadorian authorities must investigate death threats made against journalist Virginia Suárez and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Suárez, who covers politics in the central town of Ventanas for her twice-weekly live news program called “Tus noches con Virginia” (Your nights with Virginia) on…
‘Complex, fast changing, and extraordinarily dangerous’: PBS’ Jane Ferguson on the ground in Kabul
Jane Ferguson, a correspondent for PBS NewsHour and contributor to The New Yorker magazine, landed in Kabul on August 15, just as the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was collapsing and the Taliban began to enter the city. Ferguson told CPJ that covering the swift and unexpected changing of the guard in Kabul is…
Afghan female journalist: I may not be alive by the time US can evacuate me
Steven Butler describes it as “mass panic.” As the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator has been fielding “hundreds and hundreds” of daily pleas from journalists asking for help to flee the country. Butler, along with CPJ Asia research associate Sonali Dhawan and the organization’s Emergencies team, are now in the process…
Mexican news anchor Azucena Uresti threatened in video by alleged gang leader
Mexico City, August 10, 2021 – Mexican authorities must immediately act to protect news anchor Azucena Uresti and investigate death threats against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Uresti, one of Mexico’s best known news anchors who hosts programs on television broadcaster Milenio Televisión and radio broadcaster Radio Fórmula, was threatened yesterday by…