Cuban journalist Luz Escobar barred from leaving home since December 4
Miami, December 10, 2020 – Cuban authorities must allow journalist Luz Escobar to leave her home, and should stop harassing and intimidating members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, security agents standing at her Havana home barred Escobar, a reporter for the independent Cuban news website 14yMedio, from going outside for the…
Journalist Malalai Maiwand shot dead in Afghanistan
New York, December 10, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killing of journalist Malalai Maiwand in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province this morning. Maiwand, a reporter at Enikass Radio and TV in Nangarhar, was on her way to work in Jalalabad, the provincial capital, around 7 a.m. when unidentified gunmen opened fire on her vehicle,…
CPJ joins calls for accountability, ending of crackdown in Belarus
New York, December 10, 2020 – Today, on International Human Rights Day, the Committee to Protect Journalists and eight other civil society groups issued a joint statement expressing deep concern about the violation of human rights and press freedom in Belarus in the wake of the August 9 presidential election, and calling Belarusian authorities to…
Greek police detain, question journalist Antonis Rigopoulos for allegedly wearing incorrect mask at protest
On November 17, 2020, traffic police in Athens stopped Greek journalist Antonis Rigopoulos while he was covering a protest, and proceeded to detain him and question him about his work, according to a report by his employer, the news website Documento, and Rigopoulos, who communicated with CPJ via email. Rigopoulos was using his cellphone to…
Rio de Janeiro Military Police publish video criticizing, insulting journalist Rafael Soares
In the evening of December 8, 2020, the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro published a video on its website and official YouTube and Twitter accounts in response to an article that Rafael Soares, a security reporter for national newspapers O Globo and Extra, had published previously that day. Soares’ article concerned a Military Police…
CPJ testifies to US Congress, calls for more effort to fight restrictions on press
Journalists working around the world continue to face a wide variety of challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. government must redouble its efforts to defend press freedom, CPJ Advocacy Director Courtney Radsch said during testimony to the U.S. Congress today. Addressing the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and…
BBC correspondent describes staying safe, finding journalistic camaraderie during Nagorno-Karabakh’s 6-week war
Journalists who covered the recent six-week-long conflict between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh faced violence to get the story of the region’s latest bloody chapter to the world. At least six journalists were injured in shelling attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh and two were assaulted when a mob descended on a broadcaster in Armenia to oppose its reporting on…
FPU, RSF and CPJ to launch ambitious joint project to get justice for murdered journalists
The Hague, 9 December 2020 – Leading press freedom organisations come together to launch an international online campaign to pursue justice for murdered journalists worldwide. A Safer World For The Truth is a collaboration between Free Press Unlimited (FPU), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) focused on the persistent issue…
Indian government gives go ahead for contempt proceedings against cartoonist
New Delhi, December 8, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm over a petition to the Indian Supreme Court calling for it to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against political cartoonist Rachita Taneja for her comics about the judiciary. On December 5, Aditya Kashyap, a law student and member of the student union associated…
Iranian journalist Kayvan Samimi begins 3-year prison sentence over protest coverage
Washington, D.C., December 8, 2020 — Iranian authorities must release journalist Kayvan Samimi from prison and cease jailing members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, authorities arrested Samimi at the Evin Prison Sentence Enforcement Office, in Tehran, and took him to serve a three-year sentence at Evin…