Radio reporter Federico Gempesaw shot and killed in the Philippines
Bangkok, July 5, 2022 – Philippine authorities must launch a swift and comprehensive investigation into the killing of radio journalist Federico “Ding” Gempesaw and swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On the morning of June 29, two masked assailants shot Gempesaw at close range in front of his…
CPJ joins statement welcoming Dutch government’s proposed policy changes on journalist safety
On July 1, 2022, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined seven other press freedom organizations in a joint statement welcoming a letter by the Dutch government to Parliament proposing a new policy approach on media freedom and journalist safety. That June 29 letter took into consideration reports and recommendations by domestic and international press and…
Frontline diary: A day in the life of a Ukraine war correspondent
Ruslan Smieshchuk, a reporter for privately owned Ukrainian TV channel Inter, had long dreamed of being a war correspondent when he covered his first conflict, the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, for local Odessa TV channel ATV. Now he hopes that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war will be his last battlefield assignment. “War is a lot of pain and grief,” he told CPJ. The 38-year-old…
CPJ Insider: July 2022 edition
CPJ opens the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Press Freedom Center in New York In early June, CPJ held its grand opening of The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Press Freedom Center, the site of our global headquarters in New York. The new space will serve as a convening hub for…
Somalia journalists injured in explosion while covering military campaign against Al-Shabaab
Lusaka, July 1, 2022 – Somali authorities should immediately and thoroughly investigate the explosion that killed three people and injured journalists Abdikarin Mohamed Siyad and Khalid Mohamud Osman, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Monday, June 27, a vehicle carrying the journalists along with government and military…
Turkey blocks websites of Voice of America and Deutsche Welle
Istanbul, July 1, 2022 – In response to news reports that Turkish authorities blocked the websites of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America and German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle on Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “Turkish authorities’ censorship of the international broadcasters Voice of America and Deutsche…
Cuban journalist Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca faces 6-year prison sentence for ‘sharing enemy propaganda’
New York, June 30, 2022 — The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday called on Cuban authorities to refrain from sentencing freelance journalist Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca to prison, to drop all charges against him, and to release the journalist, who has been held for more than a year in pretrial detention. In a closed-door hearing…
DRC journalist Baby Ndombe Mwilungu detained for 3 hours over coverage of governor
On June 21, 2022, soldiers with the Democratic Republic of the Congo military arrested Baby Ndombe Mwilungu, general manager of the privately owned Radio Maendeleo broadcaster, at his home in the town of Kasongo, in the country’s eastern Maniema province, according to Ndombe and his lawyer, Richard Lupita, who spoke to CPJ over the phone….
Ukrainian journalists Sevgil Musaieva and Sonia Lukashova receive death threats
New York, June 30, 2022 – Ukrainian authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate threats recently received by journalists Sevgil Musaieva and Sonia Lukashova, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Musaieva, chief editor of the independent Ukrainian news website Ukrainska Pravda, and Lukashova, a correspondent for the outlet, have received threatening phone calls and online…
Burkina Faso journalist Ahmed Newton Barry threatened
Dakar, June 30, 2022 – Authorities in Burkina Faso should investigate and hold accountable those responsible for threats made against journalist Ahmed Newton Barry and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Barry told CPJ in a phone interview that on June 10 his lawyer sent him an audio clip, then circulating…