Russia moves to curb internet following investigative reports on Navalny poisoning
Vilnius, Lithuania, December 22, 2020—Russian authorities have advanced measures to punish online libel, police the internet, and protect officials’ personal data since December 14, when international news websites published reports investigating the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to human rights news website Mediazona and a media lawyer interviewed by CPJ. The joint investigation by…
Comoros journalist Oubeidillah Mchangama held for 3 days over Facebook posts
New York, December 22, 2020 — Comorian authorities should drop all legal proceedings against journalist Oubeidillah Mchangama and allow him to report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 14, Comorian authorities arrested Oubeidillah, a reporter with Facebook-based news outlet FCBK FM, and held him at a remand center in Moroni, the…
Ghana journalist Oheneba Boamah Bennie held for 2 days, charged over Facebook posts
Abuja, December 22, 2020 — Authorities in Ghana should immediately drop all charges against journalist Oheneba Boamah Bennie and allow him work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 14, Ghanaian police arrested Bennie, a host and commentator with the privately owned Power FM broadcaster, and detained him until he was released…
At least 5 Sri Lankan journalists assaulted while reporting in October
At least five Sri Lankan journalists were assaulted and hospitalized during the course of their reporting in October 2020, according to news reports and journalists who spoke to CPJ. On October 3, a group of people in Moneragala district, in southeast Sri Lanka, assaulted Indunil Wijenayake, a reporter for Derana TV, while he was covering…
Cambodia sentences journalist Sok Oudom to 20 months in prison
Bangkok, December 22, 2020 – Cambodian authorities should not contest journalist Sok Oudom’s appeal and should ensure that journalists do not face prison time for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, the Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court convicted Sok Oudom of broadcasting false news with intent to cause incitement, and ordered him to…
Killings of journalists rise as reprisal murders more than double in 2020
New York, December 22, 2020 –The number of journalists singled out for murder in reprisal for their work more than doubled this year, leading to a rise in overall work-related killings, CPJ found in a report released today. Globally, at least 30 journalists were killed on duty in 2020, including 21 reprisal murders, up from…
In Iguala, Mexico, murder and threats by organized crime shut down the news
Just before 1:00 a.m. on August 2, Pablo Morrugares, a journalist and restaurateur, opened the Facebook page for his news site and began a live broadcast from the café he owned in Iguala, in Mexico’s southwestern Guerrero state. A well-known local reporter, Morrugares covered crime and gangs, a beat so dangerous that Mexican authorities had…
To finally solve the Hrant Dink murder, Turkey must ‘face itself’
After nearly 14 years and multiple court cases, the 2007 murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, remains largely unsolved even as the extended main trial appears to be set to draw to a close. Dink’s teenage killer and his immediate accomplices are behind bars, but prosecutors in the retrial, ordered by Turkey’s supreme court in 2013, have yet…
Egyptian blogger Shadi Abu Zeid jailed for 6 months over 2016 Facebook video
New York, December 21, 2020 – Egyptian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release blogger Shadi Abu Zeid, and cease jailing members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 21, a Cairo appeals court sentenced video blogger Abu Zeid to six months in prison after convicting him of…
Photojournalist Rahmatullah Nikzad shot and killed in Afghanistan
New York, December 21, 2020 – Afghan authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Rahmatullah Nikzad and do everything in their power to ensure that members of the press can work safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. This evening, in the central Afghan city of Ghazni, unidentified gunmen shot Nikzad, a freelance…