‘Living in fear’: Exiled Afghan journalists face arrest, hunger in Pakistan
Stuck with no income for more than a year after fleeing Afghanistan for Pakistan, Samiullah Jahesh was ready to sell his kidney to put food on the table for his family. “I had no other option, I had no money or food at home,” Jahesh, a former journalist with Afghanistan’s independent Ariana News TV channel,…
Jailed Vietnamese journalist Nguyen Lan Thang faces anti-state charges
Bangkok, April 10, 2023 – Vietnamese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Nguyen Lan Thang and drop all charges pending against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Thang, a political activist and contributor to U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Asia who also posted reporting on his personal social media accounts, was arrested on…
Sierra Leone journalist Alie Melvin Tokowa beaten while filming political dispute
Abuja, April 10, 2023—Sierra Leone authorities should thoroughly investigate the recent attack on journalist Alie Melvin Tokowa and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On March 28, a group of about seven people kicked, choked, and beat Tokowa, manager of radio broadcaster FOP 89.7FM Moyamba, as he attempted to…
Congolese journalist Mills Tshibangu detained overnight in defamation case
Kinshasa, April 7, 2023—Congolese authorities should drop their criminal defamation investigation into journalist Mills Tshibangu and ensure he can work without fear of arrest or prosecution, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On April 2, a group of about 12 police officers arrested Tshibangu, director of the privately owned online broadcaster Chat Television, while…
Journalist Victor Ticay arrested over coverage of Easter ceremony in Nicaragua
Guatemala City, April 7, 2023—Nicaraguan authorities should immediately release journalist Victor Ticay and cease detaining members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On the morning of Thursday, April 6, police in the southwestern town of Nandaime arrested Ticay, a reporter for the privately owned TV broadcaster Canal 10,…
South African journalists attacked, threatened, harassed in separate incidents
In March 2023, journalists in multiple towns in South Africa were attacked, harassed, or threatened in connection with their reporting. On March 2, in the city of Newcastle, Mayor Xolani Dube and his deputy Musa “Sugar” Thwala accused Estella Naicker, a reporter with privately owned newspaper Northern Natal News, of being paid by political rivals…
Lebanese authorities summon 2 journalists in separate cases
On March 30, 2023, two officers with Lebanon’s General Directorate of State Security stopped Jean Kassir, founder of the news website Megaphone, while he was driving in the capital city of Beirut, according to Megaphone and Kassir, who spoke to CPJ in person. The officers summoned Kassir to attend questioning at the directorate’s office the…
Covering the West Bank: Security insights and tips for journalists
As the Jerusalem correspondent for The Guardian newspaper, Bethan McKernan has spent much of the last year covering the escalating cycle of violence in in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It feels, she says, like “a slow-motion opening salvo of a new war.” According to the U.S.-based non-profit Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project…
Documentary filmmaker Shahida Tulaganova denied entry to Uzbekistan
Stockholm, April 6, 2023—Uzbek authorities should explain their decision to deny entry to documentary filmmaker Shahida Tulaganova or let her travel into the country freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Wednesday, April 5, immigration authorities at the Islam Karimov International Airport in the Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent denied Tulaganova entry to the…
German journalist David Janzen’s home vandalized after reporting on far-right
Berlin, April 5, 2023—German authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate the recent harassment of journalist David Janzen and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On March 29, unidentified people painted a message on Janzen’s home in the north-central German city of Braunschweig accusing him of being “anti-German” and left behind a…