Israeli military destroys news equipment of Al-Araby TV crew covering Jenin operation
New York, July 6, 2023 — The Israel Defense Forces must investigate the July 3 attack that destroyed an Al-Araby TV crew’s equipment, make public its findings, and take immediate measures to ensure journalists’ safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On July 3, Al-Araby TV reporter Ameed Shehade and camera operator Rabie Al-Munir…
New Belarusian media law allows for bans on foreign media
New York, July 6, 2023—In response to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko signing into law of a bill strengthening control on the media on Saturday, July 1, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Belarus’ new media law translates long-standing arbitrary practices of silencing dissent and independent reporting into the legal sphere,” said Carlos…
Senegalese broadcaster Walf TV suspended for 1 month, threatened with permanent license revocation
On June 1, 2023, Senegalese Minister of Communication, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy Moussa Bocar Thiam ordered a 30-day suspension of Walf TV, the television broadcast service of the privately owned media group Wal Fadjri, over its coverage of ongoing countrywide protests. Authorities cut off Walf TV’s broadcast signal on June 1 and restored broadcasts on…
Iranian journalist Hossein Yazdi held at Isfahan Central Prison
Washington, D.C., July 6, 2023 — Iranian authorities must release journalist Hossein Yazdi from prison immediately and cease jailing members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Tuesday, July 4, Yazdi responded to a summons at a court in his hometown of Isfahan. When he arrived, authorities arrested…
‘You better shut up’: A Ghana family’s relentless calls for justice
Kamilu Ibrahim Tahidu and his brothers gather every evening outside their family home in Ghana’s capital of Accra. They sit in a circle of plastic chairs and enjoy each others’ company. They pray together. And they never forget that one of them is missing. It’s been over four years since assassins came to their neighborhood,…
Ugandan journalists robbed, assaulted while covering election
On June 14, 2023, unidentified people assaulted or harassed at least four reporters covering local elections in the eastern Uganda district of Bukedea, according to a report by the privately owned broadcaster NTV Uganda, a statement by the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-U) local press rights group, and three of those journalists, who spoke…
CPJ Insider: July 2023 edition
CPJ travels to Poland and Georgia to meet with exiled journalists and demand release of Nika Gvaramia ahead of pardon CPJ’s Emergencies team was on the ground in Warsaw, Poland, and Tbilisi, Georgia, in June meeting with exiled journalists and calling for the immediate release of journalist Nika Gvaramia, the only Georgian journalist on CPJ’s…
Journalist Elena Milashina severely beaten in Chechnya
New York, July 4, 2023—In response to Tuesday’s attack on journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Aleksandr Nemov in the Russian republic of Chechnya, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “The brutal and shocking assault of Russian journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Aleksandr Nemov in Chechnya serves as yet another reminder of the…
CPJ calls for Zimbabwe president to reject ‘Patriot Bill’ threatening critical journalism
Lusaka, July 3, 2023—Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa should not sign into law the overly broad Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill as it seriously threatens the rights to freedom of expression and media freedom in Zimbabwe, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On June 7, Zimbabwe’s upper chamber of parliament approved the bill,…
South Africa judge strikes down gag order against investigative outlet amaBhungane
New York, July 3, 2023—In response to a South African High Court’s Monday judgment striking down a gag order against the amaBhungane Center for Investigative Journalism, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Today’s judgment is a massive victory for media freedom in South Africa and an important vindication of a journalist’s ethical…