The Torch is a weekly newsletter from the Committee to Protect Journalists that brings you the latest press freedom and journalist safety news from around the world. Subscribe here.
A London court on Wednesday ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States.
The decision brings Assange one step closer to facing espionage and hacking charges in the U.S., but the extradition still needs to be approved by a British cabinet minister, and Assange’s defense can appeal to her directly. CPJ renewed its call for the U.S. Justice Department to drop its charges and cease its dogged pursuit of Assange.
In other news, Hong Kong’s largest journalist association is considering disbanding amid government pressure. The Hong Kong Journalists Association has informed its members that it will hold an “Extraordinary General Meeting” on Saturday to discuss the group’s future.
- Bangladeshi journalist Mohiuddin Sarker Nayeem shot and killed
- Belarusian journalist Aksana Kolb arrested, no charges disclosed
- Turkish freelance journalist İbrahim Haskoloğlu arrested over coverage of alleged hacking
- Indian authorities raid The Kashmir Walla, arrest contributor over 2011 article
- In Afghanistan, Taliban forces separately beat and detain journalists Reza Shahir and Mohib Jalili
- Kyrgyzstan authorities file new charges against journalist Bolot Temirov
- CPJ welcomes the decision of Pakistan’s new government to scrap the Pakistan Media Development Authority
- CPJ joins call for Romanian authorities to investigate the harassment of journalist Emilia Șercan
Check out CPJ’s Russia-Ukraine Watch, updated weekly on Thursdays here, and sign up to receive a daily digest of our coverage of the war and press freedom here.
Spotlight
On April 26 and 27, CPJ will join Free Press Unlimited and Reporters Without Borders to convene hearings in Mexico City as part of the People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists. The hearings will focus on the tribunal’s indictment of the Mexican state for failing to deliver justice for journalist Miguel Ángel López Velasco, who was killed in 2011.
The People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists, an initiative of A Safer World for the Truth, aims to build a thorough public record of cases where journalists are murdered and their killers go free. By obtaining an independent judgement from the tribunal, we aim to hold governments accountable for their failure to act against impunity.
In order to #EndImpunity, justice must become the norm. Learn more here.
What we are reading
- ‘Threats and bullets’: wave of killings highlights perils of journalism in Mexico — Tom Phillips, The Guardian
- CatalanGate: Extensive mercenary spyware operation against Catalans using Pegasus and Candiru — John Scott-Railton, Elies Campo, Bill Marczak, Bahr Abdul Razzak, Siena Anstis, Gözde Böcü, Salvatore Solimano, and Ron Deibert, Citizen Lab
- How Democracies Spy on Their Citizens — Ronan Farrow, The New Yorker
- Hard News: Journalists and the Threat of Disinformation — PEN America
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