Iraqi authorities shut down Iraq AlHadath channel without clear explanation
Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, July 2, 2025—Iraqi authorities must immediately end their unexplained shutdown and suspension of the privately owned Iraq AlHadath news broadcaster in Baghdad and ensure that media outlets can operate freely and independently, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. “The shutdown of Iraq AlHadath without transparent justification represents a troubling move against press freedom in…
CPJ outraged at ICE refusal of judge’s order to release journalist Mario Guevara
Atlanta, July 2, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the decision by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities not to comply with a federal immigration judge order that granted bail to Atlanta-based Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara, who was originally arrested on First Amendment-related charges. Those charges were dropped on June 25. CPJ calls for Guevara’s immediate…
CPJ: Kyrgyz president must veto ‘dangerous’ media law
UPDATE: On August 6, President Sadyr Japarov signed the media law into effect. New York, July 2, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov to veto a new mass media law that would require all publications to register with the state and heavily restricts any foreign legal entities from founding or owning media outlets. Parliament…
Iranian media under siege after Israel war, internet disrupted
New York, July 2, 2025—The dead have been buried and most journalists detained during Iran’s 12-day war with Israel have been freed, but the media are still reeling, as authorities crack down on critical voices and disrupt internet access. The state news agency has announced a “season of traitor-killing,” with hundreds of people arrested and…
Paramount reaches $16M settlement with Trump over ‘60 Minutes’ interview
Atlanta, July 2, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Paramount Global’s $16 million settlement with U.S. President Donald Trump reached on Tuesday, with deep concern that such a concession by a major news network will set a harmful precedent of media self-censorship. “This is a major blow for press freedom in the United States: A…
CPJ, partners condemn the Bolsonaro administration’s surveilling of journalists in Brazil
The Coalition in Defense of Journalism (CDJor), which the Committee to Protect Journalists is a member, strongly condemns the 2019-2022 Bolsonaro administration’s use of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency to surveil journalists, media outlets, and civil society organizations. Details on the depth of administration’s surveillance of journalists came to light after Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court unsealed…
Tunisia adds 2 more years to jailed commentator Sonia Dahmani’s sentence
New York, July 2, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate release of Tunisian media commentator Sonia Dahmani, who was sentenced on June 30 to an additional two years in prison on charges of spreading false news, after condemning racism in the country, an act she is already serving jail time for. Dahmani’s lawyers withdrew from Monday’s trial to protest that…
Satirical Turkish weekly LeMan targeted over ‘Muhammad’ cartoon
Istanbul, July 1, 2025—Turkish authorities must release from custody four staff members of the leftist satirical weekly LeMan and ensure their safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Police raided the Istanbul offices of LeMan Monday evening and detained the staff members after the publication of what officials claimed was a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, a depiction that is forbidden in…
Georgia increasingly blocks entry to Western journalists amid authoritarian turn
New York, July 1, 2025—When British investigative journalist Will Neal was turned back at Georgia’s border with Armenia in May, he became the fifth of at least six European journalists in recent months to be denied entry into a country once seen as a regional leader for press freedom. Neal, who had lived in Georgia since 2022,…
Algeria sentences French sports journalist to 7 years in prison
New York, July 1, 2025—Algerian authorities must immediately release freelance French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. An Algiers court sentenced him on June 29 to seven years in prison on charges of “glorifying terrorism” and “possessing propaganda publications harmful to the national interest.” Gleizes was arrested on May 28, 2024, in the town of…