Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor targeted in criminal investigation of protest
On March 3, 2022, police in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, opened an investigation into Asad Ali Toor for allegedly leading an unauthorized protest earlier that week, according to news reports and Toor, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview. On March 4, the Islamabad High Court ordered police not to arrest anyone named in the…
Indian authorities arrest journalist Nilesh Sharma, re-arrest Fahad Shah
New Delhi, March 9, 2022 – Authorities in Chhattisgarh state and the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir region must immediately release journalists Nilesh Sharma and Fahad Shah and drop all investigations launched based on their journalistic work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On March 2, police in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur arrested Sharma, editor of…
CPJ calls on European Parliament to take global lead on ending spyware abuse
Brussels, March 8, 2022 – The European Parliament should ensure that an upcoming investigation into Pegasus and other spyware fulfills its ambitious scope and vision, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Wednesday, members of the European Parliament are set to vote on establishing a committee to investigate how EU member states have used…
Sri Lankan police harass, question journalists Selvakumar Nilanthan, Punniyamoorthy Sasikaran
On February 9, 2022, officers with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), a branch of the Sri Lanka police, questioned Selvakumar Nilanthan, a freelance Tamil journalist and secretary of the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Association, for two hours at a police station in the town of Eravur in the eastern Batticaloa district, according to Tamil Guardian,…
Kyrgyzstan authorities raid broadcaster Next TV, detain director over Ukraine war posts
Stockholm, March 7, 2022 – Kyrgyzstan authorities should immediately release Next TV director Taalaibek Duishenbiev, drop their investigation into the outlet, and allow it to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On the afternoon of Thursday, March 3, the privately owned TV and radio broadcaster Next TV’s accounts on Facebook and Telegram…
CPJ joins call for Bangladesh authorities to withdraw proposed internet regulations
On March 7, 2022, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined 43 other press freedom, digital rights, and civil society groups in a letter calling on Bangladesh’s communications regulator to withdraw new proposed policies that could stifle free expression online. A package of proposed regulations, titled the “Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Regulation for Digital, Social Media…
CPJ calls on Ukraine to exempt journalists from compulsory military service
New York, March 7, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday called on Ukrainian authorities to exempt journalists from the general mobilization of all Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60. “Ukrainian authorities must allow the country’s journalists to continue covering the war and defending the truth, and exempt them from compulsory military…
CPJ urges countries to give refuge to Russian journalists after Georgia refuses entry to Dozhd TV’s Mikhail Fishman
Washington, D.C., March 7, 2022 – Governments around the world should allow independent Russian journalists fleeing prosecution to enter their countries and find safe haven, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Saturday, March 5, authorities at Georgia’s Tbilisi International airport denied entry to Mikhail Fishman, a journalist for the now-shuttered independent Russian outlet…
Turkish court sentences 4 former Taraf journalists to prison for exposing state secrets
Istanbul, March 7, 2022 – Turkish authorities should drop all charges against former staff members of the shuttered liberal daily Taraf and should free journalist Mehmet Baransu immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Friday, March 4, the 13th Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes convicted four former Taraf employees on national security charges,…
CPJ: ‘Putin has plunged Russia into an information dark age’
New York, March 5, 2022– In response to the news of Russia’s recent “false information” legislation, internet blocks of social media websites, the shuttering of major independent media outlets, and the exodus of prominent global media outlets, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement on Saturday: “President Vladimir Putin has plunged Russia into…