CPJ Insider: December 2018 edition
CPJ’s 2018 awardee Maria Ressa under increasing threat Days before Maria Ressa came to New York to accept CPJ’s 2018 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award, the Philippine government announced that it planned to indict her and the news website she founded, Rappler, for tax evasion and failure to file tax returns.
Mexican journalist shot dead in Nayarit
Mexico City, December 4, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Mexican authorities to immediately undertake a credible and rigorous investigation into the killing of journalist Alejandro Márquez Jiménez, whose body was found on December 1 near Tepic, the capital of the northwestern state of Nayarit, according to news reports.
Canada’s Supreme Court rules against Vice Media reporter Ben Makuch
New York, November 30, 2018–The Canadian Supreme Court today upheld a lower court ruling that Vice Media reporter Ben Makuch should hand over his communications with a source. In a 9-0 decision, the court dismissed an appeal from Vice Media Canada Inc. and Makuch that challenged a Royal Canadian Mounted Police order requiring Makuch to…
CPJ alarmed by detention of German freelance reporter in Venezuela
Miami, November 29, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over the detention in Venezuela of German freelance journalist Billy Six. Venezuelan counterintelligence agents detained Six in the northwestern state of Falcón on November 17, according to his parents and news reports.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week beginning November 25, 2018
Court upholds Özgür Gündem sentences A local appeals court in Istanbul on November 29 upheld the earlier prison sentences handed to five of the participants of a solidarity campaign with the daily Özgür Gündem, the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency reported.
Philippines piles on legal threats against critical news site Rappler
Bangkok, November 29, 2018–Philippine prosecutors have in recent days filed five separate tax cases against critical news site Rappler, including criminal charges that may allow for the arrest of the site’s founder and editor Maria Ressa, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the escalated campaign of legal harassment and calls on…
China detains award-winning photographer in Xinjiang
Washington, D.C., November 28, 2018–Police in Xinjiang detained Lu Guang, an award-winning, New York-resident, freelance photographer whose work has focused on environmental and social issues in China, in early November, according to media reports. Lu’s family lost contact with him on November 3 and later confirmed his arrest with authorities in Xinjiang, according to a…
Lebanese authorities detain Syrian reporter who reports on refugees
Beirut, November 26, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the imprisonment without charge of Abdel Hafez al-Houlani, a correspondent for the Syrian pro-opposition news website Zaman al-Wasl in the northeastern Lebanese city of Arsal, and called on Lebanese authorities to immediately disclose charges against him or set him free.
Unknown gunmen kill prominent Syrian radio host and a photographer in northwestern Syria
Beirut, November 26, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the assassination of prominent radio host Raed Fares and photographer Hamoud al-Jnaid and urged local authorities in the northwestern Syrian city of Kafranbel to investigate the murder and bring those responsible to justice.