CPJ, partners comment on U.S. Commerce Department’s proposed rules on surveillance technology export controls
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined eight human rights and digital rights organizations on October 15 to provide comments to the U.S. Commerce Department in response to its proposed rules to strengthen surveillance technology export regulations. The joint comments assess and offer recommendations for the Commerce Department to help curb the proliferation of such surveillance…
Press freedom groups demand Israel authorizes medical evacuation of 2 Al Jazeera journalists
Three leading press freedom organizations, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), on Tuesday, October 15, urgently called on the Israeli military office responsible for humanitarian coordination, known as COGAT, to authorize the evacuation of two critically wounded journalists who require immediate, lifesaving medical treatment. The letter,…
CPJ, partners demand justice for Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchina
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined nine media and civil society organizations, including five members of the Media Freedom Rapid Response consortium in a letter welcoming the opening of an investigation into the killing of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchina, whose death in Russian custody was confirmed to her father by authorities and multiple reports. The signatories urged Russian authorities to make the circumstances…
Tanzania’s regulator bans media outlets as journalists harassed
Kampala, October 15, 2024—Instead of providing the latest news updates, the homepages of three leading Tanzanian newspapers are focused on their own suspension over a video seen as critical of the president, as concerns mount over deteriorating press freedom ahead of elections. On October 2, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) issued a 30-day suspension…
CPJ, partners urge Malta to reform, 7 years after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder
On the eve of the seventh anniversary of the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia on October 16, 2017, CPJ and 10 other journalist and freedom of expression organizations wrote to Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela calling on his government to speed up reforms to create a safer environment for the media community in…
A ‘culture of silence’ threatens press freedom under El Salvador President Bukele
Nearly 80,000 people have been detained, and up to 200 may have died in state custody, since El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s declared a state of emergency in March 2022, temporarily suspending constitutional rights and civil liberties in the country in the name of fighting gang violence. Local journalists and human rights organizations have raised concerns that Bukele, who…
US journalist arrested in Israel over reporting on Iranian missiles
New York, October 11, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by Israel’s arrest of American journalist Jeremy Loffredo over his reporting of Iranian missiles’ impact on Israel, calls for his immediate release, and for journalists to be allowed to do their jobs freely. On October 8, 2024, Loffredo, an independent journalist who works…
In Germany, 2 public broadcast centers evacuated after bomb threats
New York, October 11, 2024—German authorities must investigate emailed bomb threats made against several broadcasting centers for the regional public radio station Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) on Saturday, October 5, and ensure the safety of the outlet’s journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. “CPJ is concerned by the bomb threats targeting MDR broadcasting centers…
Several journalists flee Cuba after state agents question, pressure at least 8
Miami, October 11, 2024—CPJ is alarmed by reports that since mid-September, Cuban state security agents questioned at least eight journalists and media workers from non-state media outlets, many in connection to alleged crimes against the state, leading several to flee the country. “The Cuban government appears to be engaged in a campaign of harassment and…
Slovak PM Fico attacks journalists as ‘possessed by the devil’
New York, October 11, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Tuesday’s denigrating comments by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, in which he called reporters “bloodthirsty bastards” who are “possessed by the devil,” and calls on Slovak authorities to ensure that journalists can do their jobs without fear of reprisal. “We are alarmed by Prime Minister…