Former Mexican mayor convicted for role in murder of reporter Miroslava Breach
Mexico City, June 16, 2021 – In response to yesterday’s sentencing of Hugo Amed Schultz Alcaraz to eight years in prison for his role in the 2017 murder of Mexican reporter Miroslava Breach Velducea, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “After several recent sentences in the Javier Valdez Cardenas and Miroslava Breach…
Zambia’s broadcasting regulator threatens to revoke Muvi TV’s license
Lusaka, Zambia, June 16, 2021 — Zambia’s broadcasting regulator, the Independent Broadcasting Authority, must stop harassing private broadcaster Muvi TV and should publicly reaffirm the editorial independence of media outlets ahead of the August 12 general elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 28, the IBA found Muvi TV guilty of professional…
German law increases government surveillance and hacking powers, removes protection for journalists
Berlin, June 16, 2021—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern after Germany’s Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, removed legal provisions that exempted journalists from surveillance during terrorism investigations. Amendments to Germany’s Federal Constitutional Protection Act — approved on June 10, 2021 — give domestic and foreign intelligence services and the federal police powers to…
CPJ calls on Indian authorities to release journalist Siddique Kappan, drop all charges
New Delhi, June 16, 2021 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the decision by a court in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district to drop a breach of peace charge against journalist Siddique Kappan, and urged authorities to drop all other charges against him and release him immediately. “The Mathura court’s…
Pakistan: Press freedom organizations demand re-investigation of the murder of journalist Zubair Mujahid
Amsterdam, 16 June 2021 – A new report on the murder of Pakistani journalist Zubair Mujahid finds significant errors in the official police investigation. Leading press freedom organizations now call for an independent re-investigation of the case to bring the killers to justice. The report “Breaking the Silence: An Investigation into the Murder of Zubair…
Journalist Nidal Ikhbaria survives shooting attempt at home in Arab Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm
New York, June 15, 2021 – Israeli authorities should conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the shooting attack on journalist Nidal Ikhbaria’s home, and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 9, unidentified people in the Arab-majority Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm fired more than 50 bullets…
European soccer association UEFA denies accreditations to at least 6 journalists, citing failed background checks by Russia and Azerbaijan
New York, June 15, 2021 – The Union of European Football Associations should ensure that all journalists can report from its events freely and without political interference from host countries, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since late May, UEFA, an umbrella organization comprised of 55 national soccer associations across Europe, has denied or…
Police detain 2 journalists who covered art performance in Moscow’s Red Square
Vilnius, Lithuania, June 15, 2021 — Russian authorities should stop detaining and harassing journalists for their work, and should drop any investigation into reporters Veronika Samusik and Vasiliy Krestyaninov, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 11, Moscow police detained Samusik, a correspondent with the independent news website Sota.Vision, while she was covering a performance…
Why authoritarian governments force journalists like Belarus’s Raman Pratasevich into public confessions
Forced confessions—sometimes tied to public humiliation—have a long and inglorious history, and were a fundamental component of ancient judicial systems in the East and West. Obtaining a confession, by any means, for centuries was often a key part of achieving a conviction and meting out punishment. At the Salem witch trials, the accused could escape…
Brazilian Supreme Court rules in favor of photojournalist Alex Silveira, injured by police while covering protest in 2000
Rio de Janeiro, June 15, 2021 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed a Brazilian Supreme Court ruling requiring São Paulo state to compensate photojournalist Alex Silveira for an injury inflicted by police officers. On May 18, 2000, Military Police officers shot Silveira, then a photojournalist at the São Paulo daily newspaper Agora, in…