Two Prague-based Russian journalists threatened, fear surveillance
New York, September 21, 2023—Czech authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into recent threats received by journalists at the independent investigative news website IStories and ensure the journalists’ safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Between March and September 2023, IStories received four threatening messages via the feedback form on the outlet’s…
Turkish authorities again block Voice of America’s Turkish website
Istanbul, August 29, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkish authorities to reverse their recent decision to block access to the Turkish-language website of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America. “Turkish authorities’ relentless attempts to control the flow of news and information in the country have led to yet another court order blocking…
Zimbabwean reporter Columbus Mavhunga faces jail over drone reporting
Lusaka, August 2, 2023—Zimbabwean authorities should immediately drop illegal drone-flying charges against reporter Columbus Mavhunga and ensure that journalists can freely carry out their work without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On July 23, police arrested Mavhunga, a correspondent for the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America (VOA), after a…
Zimbabwean ruling party supporters assault 3 freelance reporters
Lusaka, July 21, 2023—Zimbabwean authorities should thoroughly investigate the assaults of freelance reporters Annahstacia Ndlovu, Pamenus Tuso, and Lungelo Ndlovu in Bulawayo and hold their attackers to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Monday, July 17, in Bulawayo’s central business district, a group of people wearing regalia of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic…
Azerbaijan police detain, beat journalists covering environmental protest
Stockholm, June 30, 2023—Azerbaijan authorities must ensure journalists can cover protests without obstruction and should investigate reports of police violence against members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Since June 22, Azerbaijani police have detained, beaten, threatened, or otherwise obstructed the work of at least six journalists reporting on environmental protests…
Access to VOA and RFE/RL websites restricted in Afghanistan
New York, February 13, 2023 – Taliban officials must cease censoring news outlets in Afghanistan and restore unfettered access to the websites of the U.S.-Congress funded broadcasters Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. The websites of both outlets are inaccessible on three of Afghanistan’s privately owned…
CPJ calls for Twitter to restore accounts of suspended journalists, commit to media freedom
New York, December 16, 2022—Twitter should immediately reinstate the journalists whose accounts it suspended without notice and explicitly commit to practices that defend a free and independent media, Jodie Ginsberg, president of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement Friday. Responding to news reports that Twitter had suspended the accounts of at least…
Myanmar journalist Sithu Aung Myint sentenced to additional 7 years in prison
Bangkok, December 13, 2022 – In response to news reports that a Myanmar court on December 9 sentenced journalist Sithu Aung Myint to seven years in prison for sedition, adding to his existing five-year sentence, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for his immediate release: “Sithu Aung Myint’s harsh sentencing is the latest disgraceful…
Taliban bans radio broadcasts of VOA and RFE/RL in Afghanistan
New York, December 1, 2022 – Taliban authorities must cease their intensifying crackdown on the media in Afghanistan and reinstate the radio transmissions of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcasters Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture issued the ban, which went…
CPJ: Kyrgyzstan’s block of RFE/RL website ‘a flagrant act of censorship’
Stockholm, October 27, 2022 – Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Policy on Wednesday announced a two-month block of the website of Radio Azattyk, the local service of U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, under the country’s false information law after the outlet refused to remove a video report on recent border…