Venezuelan prosecutor accuses investigative Armando.Info of corruption
Bogotá, May 9, 2024—Venezuelan authorities should retract their allegations of attempted bribery against the investigative news website Armando.Info and stop harassing its journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. During a televised news conference on Tuesday, Attorney General Tarek William Saab, an ally of authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro, claimed that Armando.Info was part of a “media structure” that…
Iranian economic reporter begins 5-year prison sentence after lengthy pre-trial detention
Washington, D.C., May 9, 2024—Iranian authorities should immediately release economic journalist Shirin Saeedi from prison, drop all charges against her, and cease jailing members of the press for doing their jobs, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday. Saeedi entered pre-trial detention on December 23, 2023, on charges of “colluding and assembling against the national…
Turkish court sentences 5 journalists from shuttered newspaper to prison
Istanbul, May 9, 2024 — After an Istanbul court on Thursday sentenced five journalists for “aiding a terrorist organization without being a member” in connection to their work at the shuttered pro-Kurdish daily Özgürlükçü Demokrasi (Liberal Democracy), the Committee to Protect Journalists called on Turkish authorities to not fight their appeals and end the judicial…
The Taliban order journalists and citizens to boycott Afghanistan International TV and radio
New York, May 9, 2024—The Taliban must revoke their restrictions on the popular broadcaster Afghanistan International and end their crackdown on independent media in Afghanistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Wednesday, the Taliban’s Media Complaints and Rights Violations Commission banned journalists, analysts, and experts from participating in discussions or cooperating with London-based…
In Serbia, a ‘witch-hunt’ for journalists who don’t toe government line
“A real epidemic of attacks.” That’s the way Serbian journalist, advocate, and professor Dinko Gruhonjić characterized the state of press freedom in his country in a recent op-ed for the media-focused news site Cenzolovka. Gruhonjić faced severe online harassment after a doctored video in which he appears to praise a war criminal was circulated online…
Palestinian journalist Rula Hassanein charged with incitement for social media posts
New York, May 8, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday urged Israeli authorities to release Palestinian freelance journalist Rula Hassanein on humanitarian grounds as her health and that of her infant daughter had deteriorated since Hassanein’s March arrest over her social media posts. On March 19, Israeli military forces arrested Hassanein, who…
CPJ calls for immediate release of Sudanese photographer Abdelaziz Mahmoud Arja
New York, May 8, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to immediately and unconditionally release Abdelaziz Mahmoud Arja, a photographer with state-owned Sudan TV. “We are deeply concerned by the Rapid Support Forces soldiers’ arrest of state television photographer Abdelaziz Mahmoud Arja and urge…
Jordanian authorities shut down Al-Yarmouk TV station
Beirut, May 8, 2024 — After the Al-Yarmouk TV channel was raided on Tuesday night, the Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday called on Jordanian authorities to ensure the outlet can reopen and work freely without fear of reprisal. On May 7, 2024, Jordanian security forces stormed the Al-Yarmouk offices in the capital, Amman, confiscated…
Shooter of Philippine journalist Percival Mabasa given up to 16 years jail
Bangkok, May 8, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists commends the conviction and sentencing of Joel Escorial, who confessed to shooting dead Philippine journalist Percival Mabasa in 2022. On Monday, May 6, Harold Cesar Huliganga, presiding judge at the Regional Trial Court Branch 254 in the city of Las Piñas, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south…
Nigerian police secretly arrest journalist Daniel Ojukwu over critical report
Abuja, May 8, 2024—Authorities in Nigeria should immediately release journalist Daniel Ojukwu and stop intimidating and arresting members of the press who investigate the government’s spending of public funds, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On May 1, Ojukwu, a reporter with the privately owned Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), went missing and his…