Freelancer Vladimir Sevrinovsky on covering COVID-19 in the North Caucasus: ‘The main misinformation I fight is from the state’
Vladimir Sevrinovsky is a Moscow-based freelance journalist and documentary photographer who has covered social and cultural issues in Russia for independent news site Meduza, independent weekly Russkii Reporter, and Kavkaz.Realii, a regional service of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others. Sevrinovsky’s most recent assignment was to report from Russia’s North Caucasus…
Mohamed Monir’s death of COVID-19 is a warning sign for journalists held in Egypt’s prisons
“I am very sick! I need oxygen therapy. Someone help me! Someone please help me get admitted to the Moneera hospital! I am very sick! Please do something before I completely run out of breath!” The Egyptian journalist Mohamed Monir panted, short of breath, as he made a plea from his home over Facebook Live on July 7….
Belarusian journalists detained ahead of presidential elections
Vilnius, Lithuania, August 6, 2020 — Belarusian authorities should immediately release blogger Evgeniy Vasilkov and allow him and other journalists to freely and safely cover upcoming presidential elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 31, police arrested Vasilkov, a blogger who also works as a mechanic, at his garage in Khoiniki, near…
Algerian state prosecutor seeks 4-year sentence for journalist Khaled Drareni
Washington, D.C., August 6, 2020—Algeria’s state prosecutor called for a four-year sentence and a fine of 100,000 Algerian dinars ($788) for journalist Khaled Drareni during the journalist’s first hearing August 3, according to news reports. “Algerian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Khaled Drareni, especially as there is no evidence he did anything except…
Somali military court acquits radio journalist Mohamed Abdiwahab Nuur
Nairobi, August 5, 2020—In response to a Somali military court’s decision today to acquit radio journalist Mohamed Abdiwahab Nuur of charges of murder and being a member of the militant group Al-Shabaab, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are glad that the military court affirmed Mohamed Abdiwahab Nuur’s innocence of trumped-up…
Cuban security forces detain Yadisley Rodríguez Ramírez, interrogate her about news agency director
Miami, August 5, 2020 — Cuban authorities should stop harassing and threatening journalist Yadisley Rodríguez Ramírez, and cease persecuting independent journalists in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 27, at around 10:00 p.m. police and security forces broke into the home of Rodríguez Ramírez in Camaguey in central Cuba without…
Mexican journalist Pablo Morrugares killed in Iguala
Mexico City, August 4, 2020 – Mexican authorities must immediately and credibly investigate the murder of reporter Pablo Morrugares and bring the attackers to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Morrugares was shot and killed in the city of Iguala in early hours of August 2, according to news reports and officials. Morrugares…
Libyan National Army ‘sentences’ freelance photojournalist Ismail Abuzreiba al-Zway to 15 years
Washington, D.C., August 4, 2020–The Libyan National Army should immediately release photojournalist Ismail Abuzreiba al-Zway, and stop prosecuting journalists in secret trials and in military courts, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In a secret trial proceeding held in May 2020, a military court in Benghazi, a city in eastern Libya controlled by the…
Kashmiri journalists describe new government tactics to control the narrative
In April, after Srinagar-based senior journalist Peerzada Ashiq published an article about the families of two militants who wanted to exhume their bodies to perform funeral rites, police in Kashmir launched an investigation and accused him of publishing “fake news.” Ashiq told CPJ that he had sought official comment on multiple channels, but never received…
Malaysian police raid Al-Jazeera’s office, seize computers in escalating legal harassment
Bangkok, August 4, 2020 – Malaysian police raided Al-Jazeera’s Kuala Lumpur office and seized two computers in an ongoing criminal probe into the global broadcaster’s July 3 report on the government’s treatment of undocumented migrant workers during the COVID-19 crisis, news reports said. Six of Al-Jazeera’s Malaysia-based reporters and staff members are being investigated on criminal charges…