López Obrador’s anti-press rhetoric leaves Mexico’s journalists feeling exposed
During his daily press conference on April 15, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told reporters, “If you go too far, you know what will happen.” López Obrador clarified his remarks the following day, saying he meant that the public would hold reporters who unfairly criticize the government to account. But in a country where…
Guatemala elections 2019: Journalist safety kit
Guatemala is scheduled to hold presidential and congressional elections on June 16. The Knight Centre for Journalism in the Americas reported increased violence against the press during the country’s 2015 elections. Journalists have told CPJ they are being attacked and harassed, especially online, over their coverage of corruption, or reports on President Jimmy Morales and…
Belarus: Use Europe Games to Spur Media Freedom
Press Freedom Day Throws Spotlight on Need to Assure Safe Reporting Brussels, May 3, 2019–The European Olympic Committees (EOC) should establish a complaints hotline for journalists during the 2019 European Games, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Belarus will host the games, a multi-sport event for more than 4,000 athletes,…
Journalists threatened by government staffers in North Macedonia town
On April 17, 2019, a reporter and a camera operator working for TV21, a private cable station in North Macedonia, were threatened by local government staffers in Aračinovo, a town east of the capital, Skopje, according to a report from TV21 and a statement by the Association of Journalists of North Macedonia, a local press…
Challenges facing journalists trying to cover 2019 violence in Venezuela
The long-running political crisis in Venezuela escalated on April 30, 2019, after a civilian and military uprising was thwarted by the government of Nicolás Maduro, according to news reports. Opposition leaders Juan Guaidó and Leopoldo Lopez, accompanied by members of the armed forces, congregated on a highway in eastern Caracas and called upon the armed…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of April 28, 2019
Cumhuriyet appeal rejected by local court An Istanbul court on April 30 rejected a stay of execution request from lawyers representing eight staff from the daily Cumhuriyet, the news website T24 reported. The lawyers asked authorities to not act on a local appeals court ruling that upheld their sentencing until the Supreme Court had ruled…
Ugandan regulator suspends staff from 13 outlets that covered Bobi Wine
Addis Ababa, May 2, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Uganda’s media regulator to immediately rescind an order yesterday suspending staff from 13 radio and television stations in connection to their coverage of opposition politician Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine.
Austrian news anchor Armin Wolf facing intimidation by far-right Freedom Party
Armin Wolf, a news anchor at Austrian public service broadcaster Österreicher Rundfunk (ORF), was threatened and was the subject of attempts at intimidation by several politicians from the far-right Freedom Party of Austria, a member of the country’s governing coalition, following his interview with Freedom Party General Secretary Harald Vilimsky, which aired on April 23,…
Venezuelan authorities restrict internet, block outlets amid unrest
Miami, May 1, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Venezuelan authorities to refrain from restricting access to the internet, social media services, and news outlets in the country during widespread protests and political unrest.