2016
Syrian journalist attacked in southeastern Turkey
New York, March 9, 2016 – A Syrian journalist narrowly escaped an assault by two unidentified men in the southeastern Turkish city of Urfa on Tuesday. The incident follows a string of attacks against Syrian journalists believed to have been carried out by Islamic State operatives inside Turkey.
Gambia should free ailing, arbitrarily detained journalist
CPJ today joined with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to call on Gambia to free Alagie Abdoulie Ceesay, managing director of the independent radio station Teranga FM, who has been charged with sedition and “publication of false news.” Ceesay has been hospitalized twice since the beginning of 2016. Read the full statement here.
South Sudanese journalist found beaten
Nairobi, March 8, 2016 – South Sudanese authorities should immediately launch an independent, thorough investigation into the abduction and beating of journalist Joseph Afandi and punish those responsible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Colleagues found Afandi dumped near a graveyard in Juba today, beaten and bearing marks of torture, according to press accounts.
On International Women’s Day, CPJ recognizes nine female journalists jailed for their work
Coverage of protests and riots. Revelations of official corruption and graft. Major natural disasters. Investigations into deplorable living conditions. These are some of the important issues journalists cover in their role as the Fourth Estate.
Ethiopian police detain journalists, translator for 24 hours
Ethiopian federal police detained Bloomberg correspondent William Davison, freelance journalist Jacey Fortin, and a translator they had hired near the eastern town of Awash at around 12:40 p.m. on March 3, according to the Foreign Correspondents Association of East Africa.
Journalists not welcome: Across Europe, press and migrants increasingly barred
“The press is not allowed in refugee centers.” The message from the Greek government could not have been clearer. “No permission will be given to television crews and reporters to enter such premises that hosts refugees,” Yannis Mouzalas, the minister in charge of immigration policy, said in a February 29 statement. In protest the Pan-Hellenic…
Court sentences man in murders of five Somali journalists
New York, March 4, 2016 — A military court in Mogadishu on Thursday found Hassan Hanafi, a former journalist, guilty of direct or indirect involvement in the killing five journalists on behalf of the armed militant group Al-Shabaab, according to news reports. The court sentenced him to death by execution, which in Somalia is usually…
Istanbul court to appoint trustees for Zaman, Today’s Zaman editorial board
New York, March 4, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a ruling in Turkey today under which an Istanbul court will appoint trustees for the Turkish language Zaman and its English-language sister publication, Today’s Zaman. The ruling, brought by an Istanbul public prosecutor who accuses the papers of terrorist propaganda, means court-appointed staff…
Egyptian journalist alleges torture, whereabouts unknown
New York, March 3, 2016 – Egyptian authorities should immediately charge or release journalist Sabry Anwar and order an independent and thorough investigation into claims he has been tortured, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security forces arrested Anwar, a correspondent for the independent newspaper El Badil, from his home in the Mediterranean city…