Hungarian police question journalists for ‘illicit data collection’ after use of drone footage
Berlin, October 28, 2020 — Hungarian police must stop harassing journalists Gabriella Horn and Balázs Gulyás, and drop any investigation into their sources and their use of drone footage to report on information of public interest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 26, the business crime unit of the Hungarian police in…
Syrian journalist Rasheed Bakr killed in an airstrike in northern Idlib
New York, October 28, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the killing of Syrian reporter and cameraman Rasheed Bakr and urged all parties in the Syrian conflict to guarantee the safety of civilians, including journalists. Bakr, who worked for the pro-opposition news website Al-Mohrar Media Network and the Syria 1 News Agency,…
Legal setbacks could thwart progress in resolving journalist murders
Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where killers of journalists go free New York, October 28, 2020—Fragile gains toward reducing the murders of journalists worldwide could be thwarted by legal appeals and lack of political leadership, the Committee to Protect Journalists found in a new report published today. The 2020 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where…
Despite convictions, justice for murdered journalists in Mexico remains abstract
Some recent convictions in the cases of journalists murdered in Mexico may give the impression that the state is making significant progress in the fight against impunity. While CPJ has welcomed the convictions as an important step, the outlook for breaking the cycle of impunity and violence in Mexico has grown more dim under President…
Philippines makes premature claim to end of impunity in journalist murders
When the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural classified the 2009 Maguindanao massacre — the deadliest attack on the press ever recorded by CPJ — as “resolved,” Philippine authorities were quick to echo and tout this designation. Too quick, as it turned out. UNESCO’s then-assistant director-general for communication and information, Moez Chackchouk, made the official…
CPJ, RCFP and other organizations urge DHS to drop proposed visa changes for foreign journalists in U.S.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) and 36 other media organizations yesterday submitted joint comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) urging the department to drop or revise proposed changes to I visas, which are granted to members of the foreign media working in the United States….
Kurdish Iraqi security forces arrest journalist Guhdar Zebari at his home in Akre
New York, October 27, 2020 — Iraqi Kurdish authorities should immediately release journalist Guhdar Zebari, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 22, Kurdish security forces raided the house of Zebari, a reporter and editor for the news website Wllat News, in the northern Kurdish city of Akre, arrested him and took him…
Angolan police detain, harass, and beat journalists covering protests
New York, October 27, 2020 — Angolan police should stop arresting and assaulting journalists and allow them to do their jobs freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At least six journalists and one media worker were arrested – with four held for more than two days – and another was harassed while covering…
Mumbai police open investigation into Republic TV journalists
New Delhi, October 27, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Mumbai police to stop trying to intimidate journalists at Republic TV and drop all criminal investigations into the news channel. On October 23, Mumbai police opened an investigation into five members of the privately-held news channel’s editorial team in relation to…
Head of USAGM removes firewall regulation aimed to protect editorial independence
Washington, D.C., October 27, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a move by the head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media to eliminate a regulation designed to protect editorial independence for the agency’s networks, including Voice of America. USAGM CEO Michael Pack said in a statement late yesterday that the regulation would be…