‘Nightmares’: Syrian journalist Tal al-Mallohi on surviving 15 years in Assad’s jails
When Syria’s Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power last December, Syrian journalist Tal al-Mallohi was among the thousands who poured out of the country’s jails. Mallohi was 18 when security police detained her in 2009 after posting on the then-popular Blogger platform poems and articles about Palestinian rights and other political issues. She spent 15…
New Turkish law criminalizes ‘false’ reporting on cybersecurity-related data leaks
March 13, 2025—Turkey’s new cybersecurity law could criminalize legitimate reporting on cybersecurity incidents because of its overly broad and vague language, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. The law, passed on Wednesday, criminalizes reporting about an online data leak or sharing that report unless the authorities have confirmed the incident. It imposes a prison…
CPJ alarmed by India state government’s use of AI to monitor media
New Delhi, March 13, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges India’s Maharashtra state authorities to consult with journalists and media groups to ensure that its plan to use artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor media coverage and correct “negative” reports does not undermine press freedom. According to a March 6 Government Resolution approving the release of…
CPJ, partners call for Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora’s release
The Committee to Protect Journalists and eight other international organizations call for the immediate and unconditional release of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora and urgent guarantees of due process. Judge Erick García ordered Zamora’s return to prison on March 10, executing a appeals court order that revoked the journalist’s house arrest. At the hearing, García reported threats…
CPJ, partners urge FCC to stop threatening press freedom and free speech
The Committee to Protect Journalists and 16 other organizations, led by the nonprofit group Public Knowledge, sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr on March 7, expressing concern about recent developments that threaten to erode long-established safeguards for editorial independence and free expression. The agency recently launched investigations into public broadcasting…
Indian journalist shot dead after reporting on land scam
New Delhi, March 11, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Indian authorities to maintain full transparency in their investigation into the killing of journalist Raghvendra Bajpai, who was shot dead March 8 in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, and determine whether the journalist was targeted in connection with his work. “Authorities in Uttar…
CPJ calls for release of José Rubén Zamora after Guatemala judge orders the journalist back to jail
The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces Monday’s court ruling to revoke the house arrest of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora and send him back to prison. “The decision to return journalist José Rubén Zamora to prison is a blatant act of judicial persecution. This case represents a dangerous escalation in the repression of independent journalism,”…
Isolated and restricted: 3 journalists on life and work under Turkish house arrest
On February 9, reporter Tolga Güney welcomed a CPJ representative into the apartment he shares with several colleagues in central Izmir, Turkey. It was his 362nd day under house arrest while awaiting trial on terrorism charges. “I believe I’m in this situation for doing my job,” he said over a glass of tea. Güney is…
CPJ joins call for Nepal to revise new media council, social media bill
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined more than two dozen media and civil society groups in a joint statement on March 5, urging the Nepalese government and parliament to revise a recently proposed social media bill and the newly established Media Council. The statement noted that the bill granted the government “overreaching powers” that could…
Journalist Patricio Aguilar shot and killed in Ecuador
Bogotá, March 6, 2025—Ecuadorian authorities must thoroughly investigate the March 4 killing of journalist Patricio Aguilar, determine if he was targeted for his work, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “Ecuadorian authorities must not let the killing of journalist Patricio Aguilar go unpunished,” said Cristina Zahar, CPJ’s Latin…