Serbian ex-mayor jailed for 4 years in arson attack on journalist Milan Jovanović
Berlin, April 29, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the four-year jail sentence given to Dragoljub Simonović, the former mayor of Grocka, a suburb of the Serbian capital, Belgrade, for ordering an arson attack on journalist Milan Jovanović’s home. The court also gave a four-year sentence to Aleksandar Marinković, who set fire to the house…
Malaysia’s prime minister calls for ‘action’ over Bloomberg casino report
Bangkok, April 29, 2024 – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should retract his call on local private companies to take action against Bloomberg news agency for a report on alleged plans to build a casino complex in a troubled real estate development, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Friday, April 26, Anwar referred…
Burkina Faso’s media regulator suspends BBC Africa and Voice of America
Dakar, 26 April 2024– The Burkinabe authorities should immediately lift the suspension of BBC Africa and Voice of America, and reverse the directive seeking to control local outlets’ coverage, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday. On Thursday, the Superior Council of Communication (CSC), Burkina Faso’s media regulator, suspended Britain’s publicly-funded BBC Afrique and…
Brazilian court upholds conviction of killers of journalist Valério Luiz de Oliveira
UPDATE: On May 21, the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) denied a habeas corpus request made by the defense of Maurício Borges Sampaio, one of the defendants, and upheld the conviction of four of the men accused of murdering journalist Valério Luiz de Oliveira. Figuerêdo and Sampaio began serving their sentences on June 14 and June…
Chilean journalists Daniel Labbé and Josefa Barraza face criminal charges
México City, April 25, 2024—Chilean authorities must drop criminal charges against journalists Daniel Labbé and Josefa Barraza and ensure journalists can work without restrictions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Tuesday, Labbé, an independent journalist, was sentenced to a suspended prison term of 61 days on charges of public disorder, the journalist told…
Taliban detain 3 Afghan radio journalists for playing music, talking to female callers
New York, April 25, 2023—Taliban authorities should immediately and unconditionally release radio reporters Ismail Saadat, Wahidullah Masum, and Ehsanullah Tasal and stop harassing the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Monday, the provincial directorate of the Taliban-controlled Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in eastern…
European Parliament calls for repeal of Hong Kong security laws
Brussels, April 25, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed Thursday’s call by the European Parliament for the repeal of two Hong Kong security laws that it said undermine press freedom and for the release of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. The parliamentary resolution condemned Hong Kong’s adoption last month of…
Texas police detain, charge FOX 7 Austin journalist covering pro-Palestinian protest
New York, April 25, 2024 — Texas authorities should immediately drop all charges against a FOX 7 Austin journalist detained while covering a pro-Palestinian protest and take steps to ensure journalists can do their jobs safely and without interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Law enforcement officers arrested a FOX 7 Austin photographer…
CPJ recognizes vital role of free press on democracy ahead of White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner
New York, April 24, 2024 — Ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Association’s (WHCA) annual dinner on Saturday, April 27, the Committee to Protect Journalists reaffirms the importance of press freedom for democracy. This year’s WHCA dinner takes place at a time when journalists face grave threats globally and in a year when much of…
Belarus takes more than 20 ‘extremist’ news websites offline
New York, April 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns Belarusian authorities’ decision to cancel the domain names of news websites they labeled as “extremist” and calls for an end to the use of extremism legislation as a censorship tool to silence independent reporting. In an April 4 order, the Operational and Analytical Center (OAC)…