CPJ calls for accountability after Chilean journalist is shot covering military coup protest
São Paulo, September 21, 2023–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Chilean authorities to investigate and hold accountable those who shot Javier Barría, a camera operator with privately owned news outlet MegaMedia, while he covered a protest on the anniversary of the country’s 1973 military coup. On September 11, Barría was working in the Villa…
Two Prague-based Russian journalists threatened, fear surveillance
New York, September 21, 2023—Czech authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into recent threats received by journalists at the independent investigative news website IStories and ensure the journalists’ safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Between March and September 2023, IStories received four threatening messages via the feedback form on the outlet’s…
Turkish journalist Sinan Aygül sentenced to 6 months in prison for trespassing
Istanbul, September 20, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the six-month sentence issued to Turkish journalist Sinan Aygül on Tuesday, in connection with his journalistic activity. “The people charged with the vicious assault that landed journalist Sinan Aygül in hospital in June were released on bail by a Turkish court last week. This week, Aygül…
Belarusian authorities label investigative media outlet Belarusian Investigative Center as ‘extremist’
New York, September 20, 2023—Belarusian authorities should stop using the country’s extremism legislation to silence independent reporting and let the media work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. At a closed-door hearing on September 15, the Belarusian Supreme Court labeled the Belarusian Investigative Center (BIC), an independent Czech Republic-based investigative media outlet, as…
Angolan authorities charge journalist with criminal defamation over corruption report
New York, September 20, 2023—Prosecutors should drop the criminal defamation, insult, and forgery charges against Angolan journalist Liberato Furtado Pereira and stop retaliating against the journalist for his public interest reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Furtado, a reporter for privately owned Radio Luanda, is expected to appear before the district court in…
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering Libya’s 2023 floods
Days after September floods killed thousands in the coastal Libyan city of Derna, protesters took to the streets to blame local authorities for failing to maintain the local dams. On September 19, Libya’s eastern administration ordered local and foreign journalists to leave the city of Derna by noon that day on the grounds that the…
4 Comoros journalists appeal conviction over publicizing of sexual assault allegations
Dakar, September 20, 2023—Comoros authorities should not oppose the appeal of four journalists convicted for publicizing sexual assault allegations at the country’s public broadcaster, Comoros Radio and Television Office (ORTC), the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On August 31, four Comorian journalists appealed their August 24 convictions for defamation and insult related to the publicizing of sexual misconduct…
French intelligence agents search home, detain journalist Ariane Lavrilleux over leaks investigation
Berlin, September 20, 2023—France’s domestic intelligence agency should immediately release freelance journalist Ariane Lavrilleux from custody, drop all criminal investigations against her, and refrain from questioning her about her sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, September 19, police officers with the General Directorate for Internal Security, accompanied by an investigating…
‘Network abuse’: Attacks on 3 media sites involved services of US, UK firms
Cyberattackers used services of technology companies based in the U.S. and U.K. to target media sites from Somalia, Kosovo, and Turkmenistan, Qurium, a nonprofit hosting the sites, said Tuesday. Earlier this month, CPJ reported on how cyberattackers used a Nebraska company, RayoByte, in attempts to knock those same media sites offline, as well as at…
CPJ welcomes 27.5-year sentence for murder of Mexican reporter Israel Vázquez
Mexico City, September 18, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday welcomed the 27-and-a-half-year sentence issued for the 2020 murder of Mexican reporter Israel Vázquez Rangel and urged authorities to redouble their efforts to protect journalists and prosecute their attackers. On Thursday, September 14, a federal judge in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato sentenced…