Thailand charges 2 journalists for reporting on anti-royal vandalism
Bangkok, February 14, 2023—Thai authorities should drop all charges pending against journalist Nutthaphol Meksobhon and photographer Natthapon Phanphongsanon and stop harassing the press for reporting on issues related to the nation’s monarchy, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. Nutthaphol, a reporter with the local independent Prachatai news website, and Natthapon, a freelance photographer,…
Four Iranian journalists detained after newsroom raid, detention of 30 employees
Washington, D.C., February 13, 2024—Iranian authorities must immediately release four journalists from the FardayeEghtesad news site who have been detained since February 5, drop any charges against them, and answer for the raid on their outlet and mass detention of 30 staff, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Around 2 p.m. on February 5,…
Drop in jailed Turkish journalists belies a long-simmering press freedom crisis
In CPJ’s 2023 annual prison census, Turkey was the world’s 10th worst jailer of journalists—its most press-friendly ranking in almost a decade—with 13 behind bars, down from 40 the previous year. But the latest numbers don’t tell the full story. Turkey has consistently vied with China for the top slot in CPJ’s list of shame…
Al-Jazeera reporter, cameraman, critically injured by Israeli drone strike in Rafah
Beirut, February 13, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by an Israeli drone strike in Gaza that seriously injured two Al-Jazeera journalists near the southern city of Rafah on Tuesday and calls for an independent investigation into whether the reporters were targeted. Al-Jazeera Arabic reporter Ismail Abu Omar and freelance camera operator and…
As negotiations continue, the proposed UN Cybercrime Convention must not become a tool to undermine press freedom
The two-week session of negotiations on the draft UN Cybercrime Convention concluded on Friday, February 9, with member states unable to reach a consensus on critical aspects. Member states agreed to extend the negotiation process, with an additional session likely to be held in July 2024. Although the stated purpose of the treaty is to…
CPJ welcomes West African lawsuit against Senegal internet shutdowns
New York, February 13, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the recent lawsuit filed against Senegal at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice challenging Senegal’s internet shutdowns in 2023 and seeking to prevent further shutdowns in the country. “The case brought against Senegal at the ECOWAS court is an important…
CPJ condemns Kyrgyzstan’s order to shut investigative outlet Kloop
Stockholm, February 12, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled by a Kyrgyzstan court decision on Friday to shutter Kloop Media, a nonprofit that runs the country’s leading investigative news website Kloop. “After last month’s mass arrest of journalists linked to anti-corruption outlet Temirov Live, the forced closure of Kloop—one of the most respected media…
Bangladeshi journalist Mohammed Emran Hossan killed in road crash after reporting death threat
Mohammed Emran Hossan, a correspondent for the news website Newsnow24 and Dainik Amader Shomoy newspaper, was killed in a collision with a vehicle at around 1 a.m. on December 30, in the Rangunia sub-district of southeast Chittagong district, according to news reports and Rustam Ali Sikder, the journalist’s father, who spoke with CPJ. A jeep…
Moldovan journalists Viorica Tătaru and Andrei Captarenco detained in Tiraspol
New York, February 12, 2024—CPJ condemns the recent detention of Moldovan journalists Viorica Tătaru and Andrei Captarenco in Tiraspol in the country’s east and calls on the authorities in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria to ensure that all journalists can work freely and safely. On January 24, agents with the Ministry of State Security—the security…
CPJ calls for transparent investigation into Ukraine surveillance of Bihus.Info journalists
New York, February 9, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed deep concern on Friday over the surveillance by Ukraine’s domestic security service (SBU) of journalists with the country’s investigative outlet Bihus.Info and called for a transparent investigation into SBU’s actions. On Monday, Bihus.Info published an investigation which said that 30 members of a branch of the SBU, the Department…