US reporters wary of online, legal threats in the wake of the overturn of Roe v. Wade
In May, editors at the pro-abortion rights news website Rewire took the extraordinary step of removing reporters’ biographies from the web site. The move was a safety precaution: After the leak of a draft of a majority Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, reporters at Rewire grew concerned about…
Hong Kong judge upholds police request to search Jimmy Lai’s phones
Taipei, September 1, 2022–Hong Kong authorities should drop their efforts to search the cellphones of media owner Jimmy Lai, which would violate basic tenets of press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Tuesday, August 30, a High Court judge ruled that police could search two phones with journalistic information owned by Lai,…
Iraqi security forces assault, detain journalists covering Baghdad protests
New York, August 31, 2022 – Iraqi authorities should stop assaulting and detaining journalists and take all necessary measures to ensure their safety while reporting on mass political protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Monday, August 29, Iraqi security forces arrested, assaulted, or confiscated equipment from journalists with local and international outlets…
In 2022, journalist killings continue unabated in Mexico amid a climate of impunity
At least 13 journalists have been killed in Mexico in the first eight months of 2022, the highest number the Committee to Protect Journalists has ever documented in the country in a single year. In a country characterized by corruption and organized crime, it’s unclear how many were targeted directly because of their work. CPJ…
Punjab authorities open blasphemy and defamation investigation into Pakistani journalist Waqar Satti
New York, August 30, 2022– Authorities in Pakistan’s northeast Punjab province must immediately drop their investigation into journalist Waqar Satti, allow him to report freely, and investigate threats he received in retaliation for his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Saturday, August 27, police in the Punjab city of Rawalpindi filed a…
Russian prosecutor requests 24 years in prison for journalist Ivan Safronov
Paris, August 30, 2022–In response to media reports that a Russian prosecutor on Tuesday asked that journalist Ivan Safronov be sentenced to 24 years in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “The Russian prosecutor’s request that journalist Ivan Safronov be jailed for 24 years is shocking even by the…
Mozambican journalist Gil Namelo assaulted, forced to delete photographs by port official
Around noon on August 13, 2022, Agostinho Conde da Silva, an official with Mozambique’s state-owned port and railway authority, assaulted journalist Gil Namelo in the port city of Quelimane, according to news reports, a statement by the Mozambique chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), and Namelo, who spoke to CPJ via messaging…
Uzbekistan denies entry to CPJ’s Gulnoza Said, forces her to return to US
Update: On Tuesday evening, after remaining in the airport for about five hours, Said was admitted to Uzbekistan. Authorities did not give a reason for her initial refusal. Paris, August 30, 2022 — On Tuesday morning, Uzbek immigration authorities denied entry to CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said, stating that the immigration…
Russian authorities in Kazan question, search homes of 7 RFE/RL freelance journalists and contributors
Paris, August 29, 2022—Russian authorities should stop intimidating journalists and contributors to U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and let the media work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On August 17, police in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan republic, searched the homes of Nelya Biktimirova, Aysilu Kadyrova, Alsu Kiyamova, and…
Greek journalist Evangelos Areteos denied entry to Turkey
Istanbul, August 29, 2022–Turkish authorities should allow Greek journalist Evangelos Areteos to work freely, and should not let political considerations influence journalists’ admission into the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Thursday, August 25, authorities at the Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul detained Areteos, a reporter for the Greek newspaper Real and…