Iraqi TV show ‘With Mulla Talal’ suspended for criticizing the army
Beirut, April 6, 2022 – Iraqi authorities must drop their suspension of the “With Mulla Talal” talk show and allow the UTV network to air its programming freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. During a broadcast of “With Mulla Talal” on Monday, April 4, presenter Ahmad Mulla Talal and Iraqi actor Ayad al-Tayee,…
Russian prosecutor requests harsh sentences for editors of student-run magazine DOXA
Paris, April 6, 2022 — Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against four former editors of the student-run magazine DOXA and stop listing journalists from independent media outlets as foreign agents, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On April 1, at a hearing at Dorogomilovsky district court in the capital Moscow, the state…
Guatemalan journalist Juan Luis Font leaves the country after former official accuses him of ‘unlawful association’
Guatemala City, April 6, 2022 — Guatemalan authorities should immediately dismiss criminal proceedings against journalist Juan Luis Font, allow him to work freely without fear of reprisal, and stop using lawsuits to harass members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. In late March 2022, the country’s former communications minister Alejandro Sinibaldi…
CPJ welcomes release of Ethiopian journalist Temerat Negara after 4 months in prison
Nairobi, April 6, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the release of Ethiopian journalist Temerat Negara on bail on Wednesday, April 6, and called for any remaining investigation into his work to be dropped immediately. “It is great news that Ethiopian journalist Temerat Negara is out of prison, but it is a grave…
Channel Mandalay TV reporter Win Naing Oo sentenced to 5 years in prison for terrorism
Bangkok, April 6, 2022 – Myanmar authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Win Naing Oo and stop using terrorism charges to imprison independent reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. A special court in Obo Prison, in the central city of Mandalay, on Tuesday, April 5, sentenced Win Naing Oo, chief reporter with…
Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Khilyuk held by Russian forces since early March
Paris, April 6, 2022 — Russian authorities should release Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Khilyuk immediately and stop detaining members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Russian soldiers detained Khilyuk in the village of Kozarovychi, north of Kyiv, in early March, according to the Media Initiative Group for Human Rights,…
Cameroon media regulator suspends Equinoxe TV journalists and current affairs show for 1 month
Dakar, April 6, 2022 — Cameroon’s state media regulator should immediately reverse its suspension of journalists working with the privately owned broadcaster Equinoxe TV, and ensure that the outlet can operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On April 1, the National Communication Council media regulator announced that Equinoxe TV CEO Séverin Tchounkeu…
Zambian journalist Eric Chiyuka charged with assault after covering land altercation
Lusaka, April 6, 2022 – Zambian authorities must investigate an alleged police assault of community reporter Eric Chiyuka and immediately drop the charges of assault against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Around 11 a.m. on March 26, Chiyuka, who works for the ruling party-aligned, privately owned online publication CIC Press, was taking…
At least 2 Jordanian journalists targeted by Pegasus spyware
Beirut, April 6, 2022 – Jordanian authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into allegations that two journalists were targeted with Pegasus spyware, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Throughout 2021, Suhair Jaradat, a freelance columnist for media outlets including the London-based Arabic news website Today’s Opinion, was repeatedly targeted by the spyware,…
Hungarian journalists fear Orbán will use election win to tighten grip on independent media
As Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán celebrated his landslide election win on Sunday with jubilant jibes at the European Union’s “bureaucrats in Brussels” and international media, the country’s independent journalists braced themselves for an even harsher media climate during his Fidesz party’s unprecedented fourth consecutive term in office. Orbán has systematically eroded Hungary’s independent…