Belarusian authorities detain reporter Dzianis Ivashyn; prosecute journalists for protest coverage
Vilnius, Lithuania, March 17, 2021 — Belarusian authorities must stop prosecuting and harassing members of the press, and should allow reporters to cover issues of national significance without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 12, officers of the KGB, the Belarusian security service, in the western city of Hrodna…
Iran convicts 5 newspaper and news agency employees on false news charges
Washington, D.C., March 17, 2021 – Iranian authorities should cease prosecuting journalists on false news charges, and allow the press to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 14, Judge Mohammad Reza Mohammadi Kashkooli of Branch 9 of Tehran’s Media Court convicted the managing director of the state-run Fars News Agency…
Mexico: Press freedom organizations demand reopening of Regina Martínez investigation
Amsterdam, March 17, 2021 – A new report on the murder of Mexican journalist Regina Martínez finds strong indications for obstruction of justice by local authorities. Leading press freedom organizations now call on Mexican federal authorities to re-open and attract the case and bring the killers to justice. The report “The Murder of Regina Martínez…
Algerian communications minister threatens to withdraw accreditation of France 24 over protest coverage
New York, March 16, 2021 – Algerian authorities should refrain from threatening news outlets over their coverage, and should ensure that French public broadcaster France 24 can operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 13, Communications Minister Ammar Belhimer issued a statement describing France 24’s coverage of protests and marches the…
Journalist arrested from clinic bed, detained over defamation complaint in Republic of Congo
Dakar, March 16, 2021 — Authorities in the Republic of Congo should immediately release journalist Raymond Malonga and ensure that the press in the country can work without fear of harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 2, security officers in plainclothes arrested Malonga, an editor at the privately owned Sel-Piment newspaper,…
Exiled Azerbaijani blogger Mahammad Mirzali stabbed at least 16 times in knife attack in France
New York, March 16, 2021 – French authorities should thoroughly investigate the brutal knife attack on exiled Azerbaijani video blogger Mahammad Mirzali, find the perpetrators, and ensure that they are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 14, Mirzali, who runs the Made in Azerbaijan YouTube video blog, was walking in downtown Nantes, the city in…
Guinea-Bissau editor António Aly Silva abducted and beaten
Lisbon, March 16, 2021 — Authorities in Guinea-Bissau should thoroughly investigate the attack on journalist António Aly Silva and ensure those responsible are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 2 p.m. on March 9, in Bissau, the capital, four men in plain clothes abducted Silva at gunpoint, drove him…
CPJ condemns Colombian government’s move to leave Inter-American Court hearing on Jineth Bedoya case
New York, March 16, 2021 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Colombian government to return to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights hearing on the case of Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya and to uphold its obligations to ensure justice in cases of violence to journalists. Colombian representatives withdrew in protest yesterday…
Rwandan journalist Dieudonné Niyonsenga acquitted, released after 11 months in prison
Nairobi, March 15, 2021 — In response to the acquittal and release of Rwandan journalist Dieudonné Niyonsenga and media worker Fidèle Komezusenge, who had been detained since April 2020, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “While it is certainly good news that Dieudonné Niyonsenga and Fidèle Komezusenge have been acquitted and freed…
World leaders should regulate spyware, halt surveillance of journalists
CPJ campaign documents ties between spying and other press freedom violations New York, March 15, 2020 – In light of dozens of incidents in which journalists and those close to them have been targeted with spyware, the Committee to Protect Journalists today launched a campaign calling on governments to stop the use of spyware and…