Turkish Kurdish photojournalist Murat Yazar detained for 8 days in Iraqi Kurdistan
Sulaymaniyah, July 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that the prominent Turkish Kurdish photojournalist Murat Yazar was held in an Iraqi Kurdish security forces prison for eight days before his release on Sunday evening and calls on Iraqi Kurdish authorities to stop arresting journalists. “Iraqi Kurdish authorities have made a habit out of…
CPJ, partners call on Biden to raise press freedom issues with Netanyahu
The Committee to Protect Journalists and nine other rights groups sent a letter Monday calling on U.S. President Joe Biden to press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on journalist killings and media access in Gaza. The letter urged Biden to ensure that Netanyahu takes steps to facilitate press freedom and journalist safety in Israel and…
Egypt arrests 2 journalists in less than a week, refuses to disclose whereabouts
Washington, D.C., July 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to immediately release Ashraf Omar, a cartoonist for the independent news outlet Al-Manassa, and Khaled Mamdouh, a reporter for news website Arabic Post. “By arresting journalists Khaled Mamdouh and Ashraf Omar and subjecting them to enforced disappearance, the Egyptian regime has once…
US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva sentenced to 6½ years in secret trial
New York, July 22, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns Friday’s sentencing of U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to 6½ years in prison on charges of spreading “fake” news about the Russian army. “Russia’s appalling assault on the media continues to escalate with the secret sentencing of Alsu Kurmasheva,” said CPJ Director of Advocacy and Communications Gypsy…
CPJ and rights groups: Biden should press Netanyahu on journalist killings, urge media access to Gaza
New York, July 22, 2024 — President Joe Biden should press the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the unprecedented number of journalists killed in the Gaza Strip and the near-total ban on international media entering the Strip, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and nine other human rights and press freedom organizations said in…
Taliban intelligence agents detain culture journalist Sayed Rahim Saeedi
New York, July 22, 2024—Afghan authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Sayed Rahim Saeedi, who was detained by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence agents in the capital Kabul on July 14, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Saeedi, an editor and producer with ANAR Media YouTube channel, was detained along with Sayed…
Photos: Israel-Gaza war takes unprecedented toll on journalists
The Israel-Gaza war has been devastating for civilians, including journalists covering the conflict. While a few conflicts have taken the lives of hundreds of journalists over a period of years, no other war has taken so many journalists’ lives in such a short time span, according to CPJ data that has been gathered since 1992. Here…
Russia sentences US journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years
New York, July 19, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns as outrageous a Russian judge’s decision on Friday to jail U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich for 16 years on fabricated espionage charges. “Russia’s decision to jail Evan Gershkovich for 16 years on sham charges is outrageous,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna. “Journalists…
CPJ calls on EU’s von der Leyen to make press freedom a reality
The Committee to Protect Journalists and 25 partners on Friday wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling on her to make press freedom and journalist safety a priority during her second term and offering recommendations for “durable and long-lasting solutions.” “It is crunch-time for the European Commission to deliver on media freedom…
In Venezuela, restrictions and self-censorship limit coverage of opposition ahead of election
Antonio Di Giampaolo has hosted his popular radio news program En el Aire, Spanish for “On the Air,” for nearly 40 years. On May 17, Di Giampaolo planned to broadcast an interview with opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González, but executives at the station Éxitos 93.1 FM in the western city of Maracay nixed the plan with no explanation, according to the journalist. “I had…