2016
Ecuadoran news websites face harassment
Ecuadoran news websites that published corruption allegations were the target of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on May 9, 2016, according to a joint letter Ecuadoran editors and press-freedom advocates sent to the Committee to Protect Journalists on May 13. In a DDoS attack, the attackers seek to overwhelm a website’s server with rapid,…
Turkish High Court denies journalist’s petition for release from pretrial detention
Istanbul, May 18, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a decision made Tuesday by Turkey’s Constitutional Court to reject a petition for release by journalist Mehmet Baransu, who has been held in pretrial detention since March 2015 on charges of obtaining classified documents.
Why Trump’s insults of journalists must be taken seriously
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called the mainstream media “crooked” “unfair” “troublemakers” and The New York Times a failing, “SAD!” newspaper “full of boring lies.” Individual reporters are “liars” and “bimbos,” according to his tweets.
Syrian journalist survives targeting by rebel group
New York, May 18, 2016 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a rebel group’s attempted assassination of a Syrian journalist working for state media in Aleppo. The May 14 attack, the latest example of armed groups on all sides of the conflict targeting journalists, left four journalists and media workers seriously injured.
Mexican reporter killed in Veracruz
New York, May 17, 2016 – Mexican authorities should thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Manuel Santiago Torres González, who was shot to death on Saturday in the city of Poza Rica, in the eastern coastal state of Veracruz, and bring all those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Liberian journalist beaten for refusing to delete video
Three men beat Wremongar Joe, a journalist with the radio station Prime FM, in Buchanan, some 60 miles (100 kilometres) southeast of the capital Monrovia, on May 7, 2016, after the journalist refused to delete a video of a brawl between a lawmaker and other spectators during a football match, according to media reports.
Journalist covering protests in Egypt jailed for two years
Washington, May 16, 2016–A criminal court in Cairo sentenced Ali Abdeen, a photographer for the news website El-Fagr, to two years in jail, according to his outlet. Abdeen, who was sentenced on May 14 alongside 50 others, was convicted of inciting illegal protests, obstructing traffic, and publishing false news, according to news reports and the…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of May 15
Veteran columnist pleads ‘not guilty’ to charges of insulting Erdoğan Veteran journalist Hasan Cemal, a columnist for the news website T24 and a founder of the news website P24, today pleaded not guilty to charges of insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at Istanbul’s 12th Criminal Court of First Instance, T24 reported.
Palestinian journalism student arrested from his home
Israeli soldiers arrested 21-year-old Palestinian journalist Musaab Khamees Qafesha from his home in the southern West Bank town of Hebron on March 29, 2016, and held him at the Etzion detention center, in the southern West Bank, for eight days, before transferring him to Ofer Prison, south of Ramallah, according to news reports.