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A man reads a newspaper at a stall near the Medina of Rabat, Morocco, on March 16, 2017. Morocco, Yemen, Oman, and Jordan recently ordered newspapers to cease production, citing fears of spreading the COVID-19 virus. (AP/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Jordan, Oman, Morocco, and Yemen suspend newspaper production, citing COVID-19 fears

Beginning on March 17, 2020, authorities in Jordan, Oman, Morocco, and Yemen issued decrees suspending newspaper printing and distribution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to news reports and government statements.

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A police officer is seen near a picture of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2, 2019. Today, Turkey indicted 20 Saudi nationals in Khashoggi's killing. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Turkey indicts 20 Saudi nationals over Jamal Khashoggi killing

New York, March 25, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed an announcement that Turkish officials have indicted 20 Saudi nationals on charges of murder and incitement linked to the 2018 killing of exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and issued the following statement:

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Independent Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli speaks in Baku, Azerbaijan ,,on Sunday, March 2, 2014. Mukhtarli spoke to CPJ after his release from prison in Azerbaijan on March 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Aziz Karimov)

Journalist Afgan Mukhtarli: ‘Azerbaijani prisoners are facing death under coronavirus quarantine’

Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli was released from prison on March 17, 2020, after nearly three years in jail, and flown to Berlin, where he was reunited with his wife and daughter. He served half of his six-year sentence on charges that Azerbaijani authorities brought in retaliation for his investigative reporting, as CPJ research shows.

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A police officer stands at a barricade in New Delhi, India, on March 23, 2020. Police in New Delhi and Hyderabad recently assaulted journalists for allegedly violating the cities' lockdowns. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi)

Journalists assaulted by police amid coronavirus lockdown in India

New Delhi, March 24, 2020 – Authorities in India must stop assaulting journalists and allow them to do their work freely and without restrictions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Security forces are seen in Niamey, Niger, on March 15, 2020. Police recently arrested journalist Kaka Touda Mamane Goni over his posts on social media about the COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP/Boureima Hama)

Journalist Kaka Touda Mamane Goni arrested in Niger over COVID-19 report

New York, March 24, 2020 — Authorities in Niger should immediately release journalist Kaka Touda Mamane Goni and halt legal proceedings against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A woman wearing a protective mask is seen on a bus in Moscow, Russia, on March 23, 2020. Russia's media regulator recently censored two outlets reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak. (Reuters/Evgenia Novozhenina)

Russian media regulator orders 2 outlets to take down COVID-19 reports

Vilnius, Lithuania, March 24, 2020 — Russian authorities should stop censoring news outlets reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak and allow journalists to report freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Prime Minister Viktor Orban is seen in the House of Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on March 23, 2020. The parliament is considering amendments to the country's penal code that could imprison journalists covering the COVID-19 outbreak. (AP/Tamas Kovacs/MTI)

Proposed Hungarian laws could imprison journalists covering coronavirus response

Berlin, March 24, 2020 — Hungarian lawmakers should not pass amendments to the country’s criminal code that threaten journalists with prison sentences for their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov is seen in Bishkek on December 25, 2019. Khadicha Askarova, the wife of imprisoned journalist Azimjon Askarov, recently wrote a letter to Jeenbekov pleading for the journalist’s release. (AFP/Vyacheslav Oseledko)

Wife of imprisoned journalist Azimjon Askarov calls for his release as COVID-19 hits Kyrgyzstan

On March 11, Khadicha Askarova, the wife of imprisoned journalist Azimjon Askarov, wrote a letter to Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov pleading for the journalist’s release.

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Members of the media watch as the Olympic Flame is transported to Japan, at Haneda international airport in Tokyo on March 18, 2020. CPJ recently joined a call for transparency and press freedom at the Olympics and other major sporting events. (Reuters/Issei Kato)

CPJ joins call for transparency in Olympics and other sport events amid COVID-19

The Sport and Rights Alliance, a coalition of non-governmental organizations co-founded by the Committee to Protect Journalists, issued a statement on March 20 calling on global sports organizations to maintain high standards of transparency and press accessibility amid the COVID-19 pandemic as assessments are made around sporting events, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls wear face masks during celebrations of the Purim festival in Bnei Brak, Israel, on March 10, 2020. CPJ recently spoke with Laura Adkins, an Orthodox Jewish editor at the Jewish Telegraph Agency. (AP/Oded Balilty)

Q&A: Covering the coronavirus outbreak in the Orthodox Jewish community

Before the coronavirus outbreak, Laura E. Adkins edited opinion pieces for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a syndicated nonprofit wire service that runs articles in Jewish publications. But as the virus has taken root in a number of Jewish communities in the United States and around the world, Adkins, who is based in New York and…

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