Australia’s Northern Territory denies news website NT Independent access to government events
New York, October 8, 2020 — The Australian Northern Territory government should immediately grant the NT Independent news website equal access to government events and conferences, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Northern Territory government has refused to allow the NT Independent, which covers politics and local news in the territory, access to…
CPJ Insider: Press freedom accountability project, journalists freed, and more
Press Freedom Accountability Project On May 26, 2020, the day after George Floyd was killed, two reporters covering a demonstration in Minneapolis were struck by projectiles. Since then, the number of press freedom violations during Black Lives Matter protests has risen dramatically. More than 850 violations have been reported to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker—which…
Iraqi Kurdish police arrest journalist Sherwan Amin Sherwani
New York, October 8, 2020 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities should disclose any charges against journalist Sherwan Amin Sherwani or release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, a group of 10 police officers raided Sherwani’s home in Sebiran, a village on the outskirts of the Iraqi Kurdish city of Erbil, and arrested…
CPJ condemns Montenegro High Court conviction of investigative journalist Jovo Martinović
New York, October 8, 2020–Montenegro’s High Court in the capital, Podgorica, today found investigative journalist Jovo Martinović guilty in a retrial and sentenced him to one year in prison for drug trafficking, according to news reports; the court acquitted him of charges of criminal organization. Martinović, an investigative freelance journalist who covers organized crime, already…
Germany revisits influential internet law as amendment raises privacy implications
On October 1, a new law to regulate content posted on social media platforms took effect in Turkey, The Guardian reported. Turkish journalists already face censorship and arrest because of social media posts, CPJ has found, and the law offers just one more tool to censor news. Yet the legislation was not solely conceived in Ankara; it follows the example of one…
Journalist Pham Doan Trang arrested on anti-state charges in Vietnam
Bangkok, October 7, 2020 – Vietnamese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Pham Doan Trang and drop anti-state charges against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Trang, a prominent journalist who contributes regularly to several independent news sites, was arrested just before midnight yesterday in Ho Chi Minh City, according to news reports….
Knight Foundation, other leadership donors award grants to CPJ’s capital campaign
October 7, 2020—With threats to press freedom mounting in the U.S. and around the world, the Knight Foundation has awarded the Committee to Protect Journalists a grant of $4 million to secure the organization’s future as it wages a relentless fight to support the work of journalists and defend their rights. Half of the Knight…
Journalists attacked, obstructed during and after parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan
New York, October 6, 2020 – Kyrgyz authorities should create safe conditions for members of the press covering post-election unrest in Kyrgyzstan, and stop attacking journalists who are doing their job, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Officials in Kyrgyzstan today voided the results of the October 4 parliamentary election after mass protests broke…
Uttar Pradesh police arrest journalist on his way to cover Hathras gang rape case
New Delhi, October 6, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh to immediately release journalist Siddique Kappan and drop any investigation into him. Kappan was arrested yesterday while traveling from the capital Delhi to Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh to report on a…
Israeli security forces arrest Palestinian journalist Tareq Abu Zeid in Nablus
New York, October 6, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern about the recent arrest of Palestinian freelance journalist Tareq Abu Zeid by Israeli security forces. On October 1, Israeli security forces raided Abu Zeid’s home in the northern West Bank city of Nablus and arrested him, according to news reports and…