2017

New York, August 1, 2016–Colombian authorities should swiftly and credibly investigate threats against documentary filmmaker and activist Bladimir Sánchez Espitia and should ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Sánchez told CPJ a man with a gun came looking for him in the early hours of July 30.

New York, August 1, 2017–Bangladeshi authorities should drop all charges against Abdul Latif Morol and should release him without delay, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police in Dumaria, roughly 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of Dhaka, yesterday arrested the journalist on defamation charges after he wrote on Facebook that a goat had died.

New York, July 31, 2017–Venezuelan officials should stop harassing journalists and censoring media outlets amid unrest and violent protests in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Journalists covering yesterday’s vote to elect representatives for a constituent assembly to reform the Venezuelan constitution were arbitrarily detained, attacked, and threatened.

Beirut, July 31, 2017–Authorities in Dubai should immediately reverse their one-month ban on the print and online editions of the weekly magazine Arabian Business, and should cease censoring the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, July 31, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned Israeli soldiers’ raid of the office of PalMedia, a production company that provides broadcast services to Al-Quds TV and other broadcasters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

New York, July 31, 2017–The death of Khaled al-Khateb, a Syrian freelance correspondent for the Russian government-funded broadcaster RT’s Arabic-language service, in Homs province yesterday is a tragic reminder of the risks journalists face covering Syria’s conflict, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Court jails two journalists pending trial A court in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep on August 2 ordered Furkan Gökşen, a reporter for the local newspaper Detay Haber, and Murat Güreş, a columnist for the local newspaper Ayıntap, jailed pending trial on charges of “violating the secrecy of an investigation,” the leftist daily newspaper…

Bangkok, July 31, 2017–Myanmar authorities should drop all charges against Swe Win, the editor of the news website Myanmar Now, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police at Yangon’s international airport yesterday arrested the journalist on charges of attempting to flee the country before his trial next month on criminal defamation charges, news reports…