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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in Tianjin, ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, on August 30, 2025.

Nepal orders ban on major social media platforms

Editor’s Note: On September 9, Nepal’s government lifted its ban on social media platforms after 19 people were killed in mass protests. New Delhi, September 4, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists warns that the Nepali government’s decision to block access to social media platforms across the country will seriously hinder journalists’ work and people’s access…

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This photo shows a vigil for Gauri Lankesh, a senior Indian journalist who shot dead outside her home in 2017.

CPJ urges justice 8 years after Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder

New Delhi, September 4, 2025—Ahead of the eighth anniversary of Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder, the Committee to Protect Journalists urges the Karnataka state government to push for the establishment of a fast-track court to bring her killers to justice. Lankesh, who published and edited Bengaluru-based Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada-language weekly known for its…

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Azerbaijani authorities filed additional charges against 10 incarcerated journalists in relation to a currency smuggling case against the independent outlet Meydan TV, including (left to right) Natig Javadli, Aysel Umudova, Khayala Aghayeva, Aynur Elgunesh, Aytaj Tapdig, Ramin Jabrayilzade, and Shamshad Agha. Authorities also arrested Ahmad Mukhtar (far right). (Illustration: Courtesy of Meydan TV; Screenshot: Amerikanin Sesi/YouTube)

Azerbaijan brings new charges against Meydan TV, arrests another journalist

New York, September 3, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Azerbaijani authorities’ addition of seven new charges against 10 incarcerated journalists in relation to a currency smuggling case against the independent outlet Meydan TV, as well as the arrest of photojournalist Ahmad Mukhtar. “The latest financial crimes charges against the prize-winning Azerbaijani outlet Meydan TV…

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Hemn Mamand hosting his talk show on Sterk TV on September 2, hours before he was shot.

Iraqi Kurdish TV host Hemn Mamand shot after broadcast

Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, September 3, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iraqi Kurdish authorities to swiftly investigate the motive behind the shooting of journalist Hemn Mamand in Sulaymaniyah on Tuesday. Mamand was shot while leaving a restaurant, hours after broadcasting his talk show “Sarinj – Comment” on Sterk TV, where he discusses human rights, including…

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A rare image of Reza Valizadeh, inside Fashafouyeh Prison, where he was held in overcrowded halls alongside inmates convicted of general crimes. (Photo: Courtesy of Valizadeh family)

Imprisoned for telling the truth: A Q&A with Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh’s brother 

Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh has spent more than a year imprisoned in Iran, enduring severe psychological torment and relentless interrogations for the simple fact that he is a journalist. Initially detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison, his already dire situation deteriorated significantly after a devastating Israeli attack on the facility. Valizadeh was transferred to the dangerously overcrowded and medically inadequate Fashafouyeh Prison, where extreme neglect and inhumane…

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At least 16 Indonesian journalists have reported being attacked while covering nationwide protests.

Indonesian journalists attacked while covering nationwide protests

Bangkok, September 3, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports of journalists being assaulted, harassed, and threatened while covering recent nationwide protests in Indonesia, and calls on authorities to swiftly investigate the incidents and hold those responsible to account. At least 16 journalists have reported physical attacks, verbal threats, equipment confiscation, and other…

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Rajdev Ranjan, the Hindustan newspaper's bureau chief for Siwan, was shot in India's eastern Bihar state in 2016.

Indian court convicts 3, acquits 3 in journalist Rajdev Ranjan’s murder

New Delhi, September 2, 2025—Indian authorities should appeal the acquittal of three men accused of the 2016 murder of journalist Rajdev Ranjan, including the police’s suspected mastermind, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday, following an August 30 ruling in which three other men were found guilty. “The Bihar state government and federal investigators must…

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Civil society groups are calling on Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu to withdraw the proposed Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation Bill.

CPJ, partners urge Maldives president to drop restrictive media bill

Editor’s note: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu signed the Maldives Media & Broadcasting Bill into law on September 18, 2025. The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 20 other civil society groups calling on Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu to withdraw the proposed Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation Bill, warning it poses a grave threat to press freedom…

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Frenchie Mae Cumpio has been held in prison for more than five years.

CPJ, partners call for journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio’s release as Philippines marks Press Freedom Day

New York, August 29, 2025–Ahead of National Press Freedom Day in the Philippines on August 30, the Committee to Protect Journalists and partners have called on the country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and his administration to immediately release journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio as her trial nears its conclusion.  The 26-year-old journalist has been held in prison for more than…

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Rümeysa Öztürk’s student visa was revoked in retaliation for an op-ed she co-bylined in The Tufts Daily in March 2024.

CPJ joins legal effort to support PhD student Rümeysa Öztürk

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined an amicus brief on August 25, 2025, authored by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) in support of Tufts University PhD student Rümeysa Öztürk in her appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Also joined by PEN America, Reporters Without Borders, and the…

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