Turkish journalist Erkan Akkuş arrested after 4 years in hiding
Istanbul, August 25, 2020 – Turkish authorities should release journalist Erkan Akkuş immediately and cease jailing members of the press for their work and political commentary, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 22, police in the western province of Kocaeli detained Akkuş, former news editor and anchor for the now-shuttered Bugün TV…
Arsonists torch office of independent newspaper Canal de Moçambique in Mozambique
New York, August 24, 2020 — Authorities in Mozambique should conduct a quick and thorough investigation into the arson attack on Canal de Moçambique, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 8 p.m. yesterday, in the capital, Maputo, unidentified individuals broke into the office used by the independent weekly investigative newspaper and its…
Iranian journalist Kayvan Samimi begins 3-year jail term over protest coverage
Washington, D.C., August 24, 2020 — Iranian authorities should release journalist Kayvan Samimi from prison immediately and cease arbitrarily jailing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Samimi, 72, editor-in-chief of the center-left Iran-e-Farda magazine, began a three-year sentence today in Tehran’s Evin Prison, after his prior conviction on charges of “colluding against…
Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government files suit against broadcaster NRT for protest coverage
New York, August 24, 2020 — The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government yesterday announced a lawsuit against local broadcaster NRT in response to its coverage of recent protests in the region, according to a statement sent to CPJ via email today by Dindar Zebari, the regional government’s coordinator for international advocacy. “The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s…
Two Egyptian journalists detained and released
On August 11, 2020, Egyptian authorities arrested freelance journalist Rasha Mounir in Cairo while she was covering the Egyptian senate elections, according to news reports. The reports did not specify which outlet Mounir was working for at the time. She was unconditionally released without charges the same day, according to a Facebook post by Amr Badr, a journalist and…
CPJ welcomes sentence in Miroslava Breach murder case, urges further investigation
Mexico City, August 24, 2020 – A federal court in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua sentenced Juan Carlos Moreno to 50 years in prison on August 21 for his participation in the murder of journalist Miroslava Breach Velducea on March 23, 2017, according to a statement by Propuesta Cívica, a legal nonprofit organization that…
Ghanaian soldier beats journalist, seizes reporters’ camera and phones
Abuja, August 21, 2020 — Authorities in Ghana must conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the recent attack and harassment of journalists Stanley Nii Blewu and Joseph Armstrong Gold-Alorgbey, and ensure those responsible are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 12, in Accra, the capital, a soldier kicked…
Demonstrators attack, obstruct journalists covering protests against COVID-19 lockdown in Germany
Since mid-July, 2020, German protesters against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions have attacked journalists covering their demonstrations, according to news reports and videos of the incidents shared on social media. On July 17, at a protest in the town of Weiden, Bavaria, protesters harassed Beate Josefine Luber, a local freelance reporter covering the demonstrations for regional…
Iraqi Kurdish authorities shutter NRT offices in Erbil and Duhok; 1 journalist still held
Washington, D.C., August 20, 2020 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities should cease harassing broadcaster NRT, release journalist Ahmed Zakhoy without charge, and allow the outlet to report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, agents of the Asayish intelligence agency, affiliated with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party, raided NRT’s office in the western city…
Outlawing TikTok may not impede journalists, but U.S. and India bans could set a risky precedent
“Allison, can Trump ban TikTok?” Dave Jorgenson, The Washington Post’s self-described “TikTok Guy” asks in an August 3 video on the app. His colleague Allison Michaels responds: “The answer is yes, but how he can do it is kind of complicated…” It would be a typical exchange between journalists, but for the surreal setup: Jorgenson is standing over a birdbath, asking…