On May 20, Indian journalist Subhash Kumar Mahto was shot dead in Bihar state. Mahto was a reporter with a local cable station City News, and frequently used Public App, a hyperlocal smartphone-based video application, to post his reports. Saurabh Kumar, general secretary of Begusarai District Journalists Association, told CPJ that the attack could be related to Mahto’s reporting on the illegal alcohol mafia in the region. Last year, two other journalists, Avinash Jha and Manish Kumar Singh, were killed in two separate incidents in Bihar.
Ethiopia has arrested at least 131 journalists and media workers since May 19 in Amhara state and the capital Addis Ababa as part of a broader crackdown that the state government calls a “law enforcement operation.”
In Russia-Ukraine war press freedom news:
- Photojournalist and blogger Ihor Hudenko, who lost contact with his friends and family while in the northeastern city of Kharkiv on February 26, died that day
- Belarusian journalist Dzmitry Luksha was detained for two months and faces charges likely related to his reporting on Belarus’ involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war
- Two exiled Russian journalists charged for disseminating ‘fake’ news on war in Ukraine
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.
Global press freedom updates
- CPJ joined a coalition of 34 rights groups to demand independent investigation into the killing of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank
- Taliban intelligence agents detain, pressure Afghan journalist Jebran Lawrand to stop critical reporting, while a new Taliban order forces female newscasters to cover their faces
- Hong Kong journalist Eric Wu Ka-Fai sentenced to 1 month in prison for disorderly behavior
- Nigerian journalist detained after republishing article about Ogun state governor
- Two Somali journalists sentenced to 16 months in jail for false news
- Three Congolese radio journalists stripped, beaten by intelligence agents
- Georgian pro-opposition journalist Nika Gvaramia sentenced to 3.5 years in prison
- Pakistan police open multiple criminal investigations into four journalists
- CPJ joins call for Cambodia government to revoke plans to establish an internet gateway that could lead to self-censorship
- Bosnian columnist Srđan Puhalo receives death threats
- Tajikistan outlet threatened with closure; 4 journalists attacked during unrest coverage
- Brazilian journalist says city councilor attacked him with rocks in Minas Gerais state
- CPJ is concerned by the seemingly arbitrary nature around the recent seizure of Reuters reporter Idrees Ali’s phone by U.S. Defense Department officials
Spotlight
A screenshot of CPJ board member Jon Williams during the U.N. Security Council Arria-formula meeting on the protection of journalists on May 24, 2022. (UN Web TV)
“Journalism is the lifeblood of democracy. Without it, democracy becomes something else. Press freedom is your freedom,” CPJ board member Jon Williams told the United Nations Security council on Wednesday, during a meeting on the protection of journalists convened by the Irish mission to the UN. Williams, managing director of news and current affairs of RTÉ, Ireland’s national television and radio broadcaster, detailed the mounting threats journalists face as a result of their critical and often life-saving reporting. Highlighting journalists’ role in providing crucial information amidst a world steeped in crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, he powerfully reminded member states and the public that “Press freedom is your freedom.” Williams briefed the Council alongside Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Abderrahim Foukara, Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief for the Americas; and Joshua Melvin, a Washington-based correspondent for AFP. Watch the full briefing here.
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What we are reading
- Review suggests Israeli fire killed reporter, no final word — Joseph Krauss, AP
- ‘They were shooting directly at the journalists’: New evidence suggests Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in targeted attack by Israeli forces — CNN
- The fight for press freedom is local – Jos Midas Bartman, Project Syndicate
A closer look | CPJ’s most-read features in May
- ‘Disastrous for press freedom’: What Russia’s goal of an isolated internet means for journalists – Alicia Ceccanese/CPJ Global Technology Researcher
- As Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on, Ukrainian journalists get help from Polish colleagues – Katherine Jacobsen/CPJ U.S. Canada Program Coordinator
- Some Ukrainian journalists are leaving the media for the military in the name of patriotism – Ann Cooper/Former CPJ Executive Director
- Inspired by Shireen Abu Akleh, journalist Shatha Hanaysha was an eyewitness to her killing – CPJ Middle East and North Africa Staff
- Kashmir media at a ‘breaking point’ amid rising number of journalist detentions – Sonali Dhawan/CPJ Asia Researcher
Explore our database of attacks on the press.