New York, September 25, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Belarusian court’s Monday sentencing of journalist Vyacheslau Lazarau to 5.5 years in prison for allegedly facilitating extremism. “Vyacheslau Lazarau’s sentencing to 5.5 years in prison demonstrates how the country’s ‘extremist’ laws have become the most frequent tool the Belarusian authorities use to jail journalists…
Taipei, September 25, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Hong Kong court’s decision on Monday to sentence Ronson Chan, head of the city’s largest journalists’ group, to 5 days in prison on charges of obstructing a police officer. “The 5-day sentence issued to journalist Ronson Chan is another deliberate humiliation to the freedom of the…
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 10 other press freedom and human rights groups on Monday in calling on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take immediate and decisive action to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and a British citizen. On Tuesday, 75-year-old Lai will have…
New York, September 22, 2023— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Bakary Mankajang after his arrest by Gambian police in connection with his reporting on police killings. “Gambian authorities must swiftly and unconditionally release journalist Bakary Mankajang, drop all charges against him, and allow him to…
New York, September 22, 2023—On September 29, 2023, A Safer World For The Truth coalition will release, “Impunity in Europe: the uninvestigated murder of Greek journalist Sokratis Giolias,” a report highlighting a pattern of inaction by Greek authorities in the investigation of murdered journalists. Investigative journalists Sokratis Giolias and Giorgios Karaivaz were murdered in the…
New York, September 22, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the charging and ongoing detention of journalist Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala and calls on Congolese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him. On September 8, police officers arrested Bujakera, a reporter for the privately owned Jeune Afrique news website and Reuters, as well as deputy director…
New York, September 21, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern over Kazakhstan’s publishing of the names of journalists, media outlets, press freedom organizations, and information agencies as part of a new registry of individuals and entities that receive foreign funding. “Kazakhstan’s inclusion of journalists, media, and human rights organizations in a published list of…
Nairobi, September 21, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday called on Ethiopian authorities to hold to account security personnel who assaulted at least three journalists and to desist from harassing and detaining members of the press. On September 7, security officers in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray Region, beat and arrested Teshager…
São Paulo, September 21, 2023–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Chilean authorities to investigate and hold accountable those who shot Javier Barría, a camera operator with privately owned news outlet MegaMedia, while he covered a protest on the anniversary of the country’s 1973 military coup. On September 11, Barría was working in the Villa…
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…