Russian police detain or harass more than 100 journalists amid January 31 pro-Navalny protests
New York, February 2, 2021 – Russian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all journalists detained during recent protests, and allow members of the press to cover political demonstrations without fear, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. During nationwide protests by supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny on January 31, as well as…
CPJ Insider: February 2021 edition
CPJ in 2020 In US, threats to journalists persist after transition of power For months, CPJ’s Emergencies team has been issuing safety advice for journalists covering the U.S. election and election-related protests. When on January 6 pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington, we immediately published a statement urging all people to respect the work…
Indian police arrest, investigate journalists covering farmers’ protests
New Delhi, February 1, 2021 – Indian authorities must immediately release journalist Mandeep Punia and refrain from detaining and investigating members of the press covering protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the evening of January 30, Delhi police detained Mandeep Punia, a contributor to The Caravan magazine and Junputh news website, and…
How Vietnam-based hacking operation OceanLotus targets journalists
In early 2020, Vietnamese writer Bui Thanh Hieu told Marina Mai, a freelancer based in Berlin, that he was closing his blog to protect his family. In 2009, Hieu was detained for a week for his critical writing on Vietnam’s territorial disputes with China, as CPJ documented. In 2013, he fled to Germany, but continued writing…
Iraqi Kurdish security forces arrest photojournalist Qaraman Shukri
New York, February 1, 2021 – Iraqi Kurdish security forces should immediately release photojournalist Qaraman Shukri and cease harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 8:30 a.m. on January 27, Asayish security forces affiliated with Iraqi Kurdistan’s ruling Democratic Party of Kurdistan arrested Shukri at his home in…
Pakistani journalists charged with criminal defamation over tweets in sexual harassment case
On September 28, 2020, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency filed criminal defamation charges against Maham Javaid, a freelance journalist, and Haseem uz Zaman Khan, an editor and writer for the English-language news website of local broadcaster GEO News, along with seven others, for their involvement in an alleged “smear campaign” against the singer and actor Ali…
Turkey to begin retrial of RSF representative, other press freedom advocates on terrorism charges
Istanbul, February 1, 2021 – Turkish authorities should immediately drop all charges against the journalists and press freedom advocates currently facing a second trial on trumped-up terrorism charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 3, the Thirteenth Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes is scheduled to begin hearings in the retrial of Erol…
CPJ calls for press freedom to be upheld as Myanmar military takes power, imposes emergency rule
Bangkok, February 1, 2021 – Myanmar’s military must fully restore all blocked TV stations, phone lines, and internet services and refrain from imposing any orders that restrict the media’s ability to freely report the news amid emergency rule, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The military seized power from Myanmar’s elected government today, detaining…
Russian military court to hear appeal of journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva in terrorism case
New York, February 1, 2021 – Tomorrow, the Military Court of Appeals in Vlasikha, a Russian town near Moscow, will hear journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva’s appeal of her July 2020 conviction for “justifying terrorism” in her commentary, the journalist told CPJ via messaging app. “The absurd case against journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva, who did nothing but practice…
To police, ‘the camera is like a red cloth to a bull’: four journalists on covering Russia’s pro-Navalny protests
On January 23, Russia erupted in nationwide demonstrations against the January 17 arrest of Alexei Navalny. The opposition leader was taken into custody at a Moscow airport when he flew home after five months in Berlin, where he was undergoing medical treatment after having been poisoned. (He alleges the Russian government is responsible; Russian president…