CPJ finds flaws, inconsistencies in murder conviction of Senegalese journalist René Capain Bassène
In spite of the Senegalese gendarmerie officer holding a gun held to his head, Ibou Sané held firm. He refused the officer’s order to admit that he knew René Capain Bassène – but in the end it didn’t matter. Testimony he insisted he never gave was used in court to help convict Bassène, a well-known…
Journalist jailings near record high in 2024 as crackdown on press freedom grows
China, Israel, and Myanmar lead the world’s top jailers of journalists New York, January 16, 2024—The number of journalists jailed worldwide reached a near all-time high in 2024, according to a new report released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). China, Israel, and Myanmar were the leading jailers of reporters, followed by Belarus and…
Yemeni journalist appears in Houthi court after 3-month disappearance
Washington, D.C., January 15, 2025—Yemen’s Houthi forces must release journalist Mohamed Al-Miyahi and the group’s non-state judicial system must drop its case against him, said the Committee to Protect Journalists Wednesday. After more than three months of arbitrary detention, including one month of enforced disappearance, Al-Miyahi appeared before the Houthi’s Specialized Criminal Prosecution in Sana’a…
CPJ welcomes reports of Gaza ceasefire, calls for media access and war crimes investigations
Beirut, January 15, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Wednesday’s reports of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and calls on authorities to grant unconditional access to journalists and independent human rights experts to investigate crimes committed against the media during the 15-month long war. “Journalists have been paying the highest price…
Venezuela detains journalist covering anti-government protests on preliminary charge of terrorism
Bogotá, January 15, 2025–Venezuelan authorities should immediately release journalist Leandro Palmar and his assistant Belises Salvador Cubillán, who were detained January 9 in the western city of Maracaibo while covering anti-government protests, media outlets reported, and ensure they can do their jobs without fear of reprisal, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday. A criminal…
New charge against killer of Turkish journalist Hrant Dink dropped over statute of limitations
Istanbul, January 15, 2025—Turkish authorities should not stop their efforts to find those behind the conspiracy to murder Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On January 9, an Istanbul court reached a verdict in the latest of many trials over Dink’s 2007 fatal shooting in Istanbul. Dink, managing editor of…
Journalist Nurgeldi Halykov barred from leaving Turkmenistan
New York, January 14, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Turkmen authorities’ decision to place a travel ban on Nurgeldi Halykov, a freelance correspondent for the independent Netherlands-based news website Turkmen.news, who was released from prison in June 2024 after serving a four-year sentence on retaliatory charges. On January 12, border guards at Ashgabat International…
Tanzanian journalist Maria Sarungi Tsehai briefly abducted in Kenya
Nairobi, January 14, 2025– CPJ calls on the Kenyan government to conduct a comprehensive investigation after four unknown men assaulted and abducted prominent Tanzanian journalist and human rights activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai for about four hours on Sunday in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. “With attacks on dissidents living in exile in Nairobi and a…
Russia labels news outlets ‘terrorist organizations’ for the first time
Berlin, January 14, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to stop persecuting the regional news site Komi Daily and the independent media outlet Asians of Russia, which the Federal Security Service (FSB) added to its list of “terrorist organizations.” This marks the first time media publications have been labeled as such in Russia, according…
Tajik journalist Ahmad Ibrohim sentenced to 10 years in prison
New York, January 13, 2025—A court in Tajikistan’s southern city of Kulob on January 10 sentenced Ahmad Ibrohim, chief editor of the independent weekly newspaper Payk, to 10 years in prison on charges of bribery, extortion, and extremism. The closed-door trial was held in the city’s pretrial detention center, with authorities reportedly classifying the case…