2018

  
Indian policemen stand guard on a road, after Kashmiri separatists called for a day-long strike against the recent killings in Kashmir in March 2018. Kamran Yousuf, a freelancer working in the Jammu and Kashmir region, who contributes to the daily Greater Kashmir, has been in custody since September 5, 2017. (Reuters/Danish Ismail)

Indian court delays photojournalist’s bail hearing

New Delhi, March 8, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Indian authorities to grant photojournalist Kamran Yousuf bail. The bail decision was expected March 7, according to news reports, but has not been handed down yet. Yousuf, a freelancer working in the Jammu and Kashmir region, who contributes to the daily Greater Kashmir, has…

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Venus symbols are seen during an event where UN Women and rights groups launched a campaign against violence towards women as International Women's Day approaches, in Mexico City, Mexico in March 2018. CPJ has documented threats faced by women journalists across the globe. (Reuters/Henry Romero)

On International Women’s Day, CPJ looks at threats women journalists face

From imprisonment, sexual violence, cyber harassment, and even death, CPJ has documented threats faced by women journalists across the globe.

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Syrian Army soldiers loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad forces are seen in Idlib, Syria on January 21, 2018. Territory in and around Idlib has frequently changed hands in the past weeks and months of the conflict. (Reuters/SANA handout)

Syrian journalist assaulted by gunmen in northwestern Syria

Eight unidentified gunmen on March 1, 2018, assaulted Mohamed Abdulqader Sbeh, a reporter for the independent news website Madar Today, in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, according to the Syrian Journalist Association and the journalist’s employer.

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Equatoguinean cartoonist and blogger Ramón Nsé Esono Ebalé served more than five months in prison on false charges of money laundering and counterfeiting. (Eloísa Vaello Marco)

Equatorial Guinea releases from prison journalist Ramón Nsé Esono Ebalé

New York, March 7, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed news that Equatoguinean cartoonist and blogger Ramón Nsé Esono Ebalé is free from prison after serving more than five months in a Malabo jail on false charges of money laundering and counterfeiting.

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A mobile phone screen shows that Facebook will not open following a government decision on March 7, 2018, to shut down social messaging networks across the island for 72 hours. (Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte)

Sri Lanka’s telecom authority blocks social media sites, messaging apps

New Delhi, March 7, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Sri Lankan authorities to restore access to social media and messaging applications. Citing Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senartne, Reuters reported that the government today asked service providers to block the networks amid anti-Muslim riots and violence. Sri Lanka yesterday imposed a state of emergency,…

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CPJ Highlights: March 2018 edition

CPJ’s global campaign to free the press CPJ believes all journalists should be able to report freely, without any fear of harassment or retaliation. But each day, all over the world, reporters, photographers, editors, and bloggers are imprisoned for their work. In December, CPJ published its annual prison census, which found that at least 262…

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Nigerian journalist Tony Ezimakor released; colleague remains behind bars

New York, March 6, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the release today of Tony Ezimakor, Abuja bureau chief of the privately owned Daily Independent newspaper, who was held by Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) since February 28. Ezimakor was released unconditionally from DSS custody in Abuja around 10:30 p.m. local time, according to…

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The southern port city of Aden. Armed attackers in the Yemeni city raided a media foundation and set fire to the presses used to publish two newspapers. (Reuters/Fawaz Salman)

Armed attackers set fire to Yemen media foundation printing press

New York, March 6, 2018 – Yemeni authorities in Aden should investigate an attack on a media foundation’s office and ensure that journalists working in areas under their control can operate freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Armed men raided the offices of al-Shomou Foundation on March 1 and set fire…

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A man carrying a flag for the militant group Boko Haram walks past a group of 82 Chibok girls, who were held captive for three years by the militants, as the girls wait to be released in exchange for several militant commanders, near Kumshe, Nigeria on May 6, 2017. Nigeria's domestic intelligence agency has detained journalist Tony Ezimakor fin relation to an article he wrote about the release of the Nigerian schoolgirls, according to media reports. (Reuters/Zanah Mustapha)

Nigeria’s intelligence agency detains journalist to force him to reveal sources

EDITOR’S NOTE: Immediately after distributing this alert, CPJ learned that Ezimakor was freed just prior to publication. CPJ issued a separate statement concerning his release. Lomé, March 6, 2018–Nigerian authorities should release immediately Tony Ezimakor, the Abuja bureau chief of the privately owned Daily Independent newspaper, and stop trying to compel him to disclose his…

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Candles are lit during a silent protest march to pay tribute to murdered Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend, Martina Kusnirova, in Bratislava, Slovakia. CPJ and other press freedom groups are calling on the European Commission to investigate the killing. (AFP/Alex Halada)

CPJ joins call for European Commission to fight impunity in journalist killings

In a joint letter today, addressed to President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, 17 international media freedom organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, called on the Commission to ensure thorough, effective investigations into the murders of investigative journalists Ján Kuciak in Slovakia and Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta.

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2018