Indian journalist Debmalya Bagchi faces criminal investigation after reporting on illicit liquor dens
New Delhi, September 15, 2023—Authorities in the east Indian state of West Bengal should drop their investigation into journalist Debmalya Bagchi and stop harassing him simply for doing his job, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On September 6, police arrested Bagchi, a correspondent for the privately owned newspaper Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP), after…
Apple warns Latvia-based journalists about possible hacker attacks
New York, September 15, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday issued an urgent call for authorities to investigate allegations that journalists working in Latvia were targeted by state-sponsored hackers. CPJ’s call follows reports on Thursday—a day after the disclosure that the phone of exiled Russian journalist Galina Timchenko had been infected by Pegasus spyware—that…
Venezuelan authorities detain, charge environmental journalist Luis Alejandro Acosta
Editor’s note: The Venezuela Press Workers Union posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on September 21, that government authorities placed journalist Luis Alejandro Acosta on probation with a 15-day reporting schedule, a ban on publishing information about his arrest, and the obligation to request permission to leave the country. Bogotá, September 14, 2023—Venezuelan authorities must immediately…
Somalia’s Radio Baraawe off air for weeks, director in hiding after shooting
Nairobi, September 14, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday called on Somali authorities to credibly investigate an incident in which security personnel shot at Radio Baraawe and to create safe conditions for its journalists to return to work. On the evening of August 12, Radio Baraawe director Osman Aweys Bahar heard gunshots outside the…
‘Breathtakingly hard’: Iranian journalist Saeede Fathi on 2 months in Evin Prison
Saeede Fathabadi, who goes professionally by Saeede Fathi, was living in Vienna last year when she took a reporting trip to her native Iran to gather footage for a documentary about female athletes in the country. The topic is close to her heart; she used to be a professional basketball player but quit after she was unable…
Iran’s journalists in dire straits one year after protest crackdown
When Mahsa (Jina) Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, died in custody last September after morality police detained her for alleged “improper” wearing of her headscarf, Iran’s already embattled press corps paid a heavy price for reporting on her death and the nationwide protests that followed. Scores of journalists were among those arrested as Iranian authorities cracked…
Journalists call on European Parliament to ban spyware
Some 500 journalists have called on members of the European Parliament since September 14 to introduce an absolute ban on surveillance of the press through spyware in the upcoming European Media Freedom Act. Spyware, which secretly takes over electronic devices without being detected, puts journalists around the world at risk of increased harassment and violence and…
CPJ joins call for Malta to publish expert report on media
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined four other press freedom groups on Thursday in calling on Malta’s government to publish without delay an expert report aimed at improving the difficult environment for the media following the assassination of leading investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and to consult widely on any proposed legislation. The Committee of…
CPJ joins call for EU to safeguard against undue state influence on media
The Committee to Protect Journalists and 14 other civil society groups on Thursday urged the European Parliament to protect the press against undue state influence by ensuring that member countries provide advertising revenue to national media in a fair and transparent way. The call comes as the European Parliament is concluding its internal negotiations over…