Taliban authorities detain 2 journalists, ban women’s voices from broadcasts in Helmand
New York, August 15, 2023 — Taliban authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Ataullah Omar, stop harassing members of the press, and drop all restrictions on women’s ability to work in the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Sunday, August 13, Taliban intelligence agents summoned Omar, a journalist at the independent…
‘This kind of behavior cannot be tolerated’: Police raid on Kansas newspaper alarms media, press freedom groups
A police raid on a small-town Kansas newspaper, the Marion County Record, has sent shockwaves through the local community and raised national alarm among press freedom and civil rights groups about its potential to undermine press freedom in the United States. The search warrant, which was signed on Friday and alleges identity theft and unlawful…
Two years into Taliban rule, media repression worsens in Afghanistan
When the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, they promised to protect press freedom and women’s rights – a key facet of their efforts to paint a picture of moderation compared to their oppressive rule in the late 1990s. “We are committed to the media within our cultural frameworks. Private media can continue to…
Masked men threaten to kidnap journalist Sahiana Maman Hassan in Niger
On July 28, 2023, three masked men in a pickup truck threatened to kidnap Sahiana Maman Hassan, editor of the news magazine Le Témoin de l’Histoire, in Niamey, Niger’s capital, according to the journalist and Ibrahim Harouna, president of the Press House, a local media association, who both spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Hassane,…
Taliban must end media crackdown in Afghanistan after two years’ rule
Kuala Lumpur, August 14, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Taliban to stop its relentless campaign of media intimidation and abide by its promise to protect journalists in Afghanistan. “Two years after the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan’s once vibrant free press is a ghost of its former self,” Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program…
CPJ deeply disturbed by police raid on Kansas newspaper
New York, August 12, 2023 — The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Saturday that it was deeply troubled by Friday’s police raid on a local U.S. newspaper office. Media organizations reported that police officers in Marion County, Kansas, took computers and phones — including personal cell phones — from the Marion County Record newspaper and the…
Taliban intelligence agents detain three journalists on claims they reported for exiled media
New York, August 11, 2023 — Taliban authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalists Faqir Mohammad Faqirzai, Jan Agha Saleh, and Hasib Hassas, and cease detaining members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Thursday, August 10, officials from the General Directorate of Intelligence, the Taliban’s intelligence agency,…
South African court throws out urgent bid to gag Media24
Lusaka, August 10, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed a Gauteng High Court ruling on Tuesday to dismiss an urgent application by two businessmen connected to South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile to prevent the Media24 publishing group from referring to them as part of the “Alex Mafia.” In its ruling, the court described the…
Ethiopian authorities detain Alpha Media founder Bekalu Alamrew
Durban, South Africa, August 9, 2023—Ethiopian authorities must immediately release journalist Bekalu Alamrew, founder and chief editor of Alpha Media, a YouTube-based news channel, and ensure the protection of press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On Sunday, August 6, at approximately 2 p.m., three uniformed police officers and two other people in…