2022
‘A never-ending nightmare’: A son’s decade-long fight for justice for murdered Brazilian sports journalist Valério Luiz de Oliveira
On July 5, 2012, Valério Luiz de Oliveira Filho was at home waiting for his father to arrive for lunch when he received a phone call from his stepmother. “Go to the broadcaster,” she told him through tears, he said. “Your father has been shot.” His father, Valério Luiz de Oliveira, a well-known sports journalist…
Protesters repeatedly surround home of Peruvian journalist Ketty Vela, throw rocks and shout insults over coverage
Bogotá, April 27, 2022 – Peruvian authorities must ensure that protesters who recently harassed journalist Ketty Vela are identified and held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On April 21 and 23, groups of about 50 people surrounded the journalist’s home in the northern town of Tocache, shouted insults at Vela, who…
Russia charges journalists with disseminating ‘fakes’ about the military; reporter Maria Ponomarenko detained
Paris, April 27, 2022 — Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalists Maria Ponomarenko and Ilya Krasilshchik, release Ponomarenko from custody, and stop persecuting members of the press for allegedly spreading so-called “fakes” about Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On March 4, President Vladimir Putin enacted amendments…
CPJ welcomes European Union’s anti-SLAPP initiative
Brussels, April 27, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday welcomed the European Commission’s move to pass an initiative seeking to address the abuse of SLAPP lawsuits in Europe. SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) are abusive lawsuits filed by powerful officials, businesspeople, or corporations against individuals, including critical journalists or news outlets,…
Slovenian reporter Matej Kavčič arrested by Iraqi military
Beirut, April 27, 2022 – Iraqi authorities must immediately release journalist Matej Kavčič and ensure the foreign press can cover the country freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On April 20, soldiers with the Iraqi 20th Infantry Division arrested Kavčič, a Slovenian freelance reporter, at an army checkpoint in the northern city of…
As World Cup nears, Qatar and FIFA face fresh scrutiny on press freedom commitments
Exactly one year before the scheduled start of the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar, plainclothes officers from the Gulf state’s Criminal Investigations Department arrested Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani, a sports reporter and cameraman respectively for Norwegian state broadcaster NRK, as they were leaving their hotel in the capital of Doha. The NRK journalists…
Council of Europe publishes annual report on press freedom
On April 27, 2022, the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists, a body comprising 15 international media and free expression groups including the Committee to Protect Journalists, published its annual report on the status of press freedom in Europe. The report, “Defending Press Freedom in Times of…
CPJ welcomes Egypt’s release of two journalists, says others must also be freed
Washington, D.C., April 26, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes news reports that Egypt has included journalists Mohamed Salah and Abdo Fayed among its latest prisoner releases, but calls on Egyptian authorities to release at least 23 other journalists in custody. “We are pleased that Salah and Fayed are getting some relief after…
‘When you stop writing, they win’: Exiled after attacks, Lebanese journalist Mariam Seif Eddine is still reporting
When a teenager’s burned body was discovered in Mariam Seif Eddine’s neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburb in September 2020, the journalist knew she had to report the story, even if it meant crossing Hezbollah. The Shia political party and militant group likes to keep tight control on information coming out of its strongholds, she told CPJ. “Hezbollah…
People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists to hear the case of Miguel Ángel López Velasco in Mexico City
New York, April 26, 2022 – In an unprecedented effort to achieve justice in the killing of journalists, three leading press freedom groups launched a People’s Tribunal in November 2021 to hold governments accountable. The Tribunal, a form of grassroots justice, relies on investigations and high quality legal analysis involving specific cases in three countries. The next hearing…