After 20 years in prison, Turkish journalist Hatice Duman says she has no hope of release
Hatice Duman is Turkey’s longest-serving jailed journalist. Now 50, she has been behind bars since April 9, 2003, 20 years into a life sentence on charges including propaganda and being a member of the banned Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP). Duman, a former editor for the socialist Turkish weekly Atılım, has denied the charges and…
Myanmar’s jailing of journalists enters harsh new phase
Myanmar’s military regime has doubled down on its repression of journalists as it tightens it grip on the country following its democracy-crushing coup on February 1, 2021. After arresting scores of journalists to block coverage of its abuses and resistance to the takeover, its second year in power saw the handing down of harsh prison…
CPJ joins call urging U.S. Senate to advance the PRESS Act
The Committee to Protect Journalists Monday joined nearly 40 other press freedom and civil liberty organizations in a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, urging him to advance the PRESS Act in a 2022 end-of-year omnibus bill. The legislation would create a federal shield law that would protect journalists from being forced to…
Russian journalist Valery Badmayev charged with ‘discrediting’ the army
Paris, December 13, 2022 — Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalist Valery Badmayev and stop harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On December 9, officials with the Russian Investigative Committee detained Badmayev, editor-in-chief of the Sovremennaya Kalmykia newspaper in Elista, the capital of the southern Republic…
Myanmar journalist Sithu Aung Myint sentenced to additional 7 years in prison
Bangkok, December 13, 2022 – In response to news reports that a Myanmar court on December 9 sentenced journalist Sithu Aung Myint to seven years in prison for sedition, adding to his existing five-year sentence, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for his immediate release: “Sithu Aung Myint’s harsh sentencing is the latest disgraceful…
Tajikistan authorities sentence 2 journalists to lengthy prison terms
New York, December 13, 2022 – Tajik authorities should immediately release journalists Khushruz Jumayev and Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, and stop imprisoning members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. The Tajikistan Supreme Court recently convicted Jumayev, a journalist and blogger who works under the name Khushom Gulyam, of membership in…
CPJ deeply concerned by dissolution of Twitter Trust and Safety Council
New York, December 12, 2022 – On Monday evening, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) received an email from Twitter announcing the company’s decision to dissolve the Trust and Safety Council, an advisory group comprised of civil society organizations of which CPJ is a longstanding member. According to the email, Twitter will continue to engage…
French intelligence agency summons 3 journalists for questioning
Berlin, December 12, 2022 — The General Directorate for Internal Security, France’s domestic intelligence agency, should immediately withdraw summonses issued to journalists Benoît Collombat, Jacques Monin, and Geoffrey Livolsi, and refrain from questioning members of the press over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On December 7, the agency issued summonses for…
CPJ joins call for Somali authorities to drop all charges against journalist Abdalle Ahmed Mumin
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined six other press freedom and human rights groups in a letter Monday calling on Somali authorities to drop the criminal charges filed against Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, a press freedom advocate and freelance journalist. Authorities arrested Abdalle, secretary-general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate press freedom group, on October 11, after…
CPJ condemns ‘harsh’ Jimmy Lai jail sentence in Hong Kong fraud case
Taipei, December 10, 2022 – In response to news reports that a Hong Kong court on Saturday sentenced Jimmy Lai, founder of the Next Digital media company and the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, to five years and nine months imprisonment on fraud charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the sentencing and called for Lai’s…