Philippines revokes registration of news website Rappler
Washington, D.C., January 15, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned an order by the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission to revoke the certificate of incorporation of the critical news website Rappler, which effectively required it to close down.
Tanzania slaps fines on 5 TV stations after they report on alleged human rights abuses
Nairobi, January 12, 2018–Tanzanian authorities should immediately annul fines levied against five television stations that the country’s regulatory commission accused of broadcasting seditious and unbalanced content, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Ahead of March elections, Egypt extends state of emergency and tightens censorship
The New York Times reported this week that Egypt ordered a criminal investigation into the paper over its report alleging that an intelligence officer told several TV hosts they should persuade viewers to accept President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The investigation comes in the same week that Egypt’s parliament voted…
Kuwaiti authorities sentence local journalist in absentia to five years hard labor
New York, January 12, 2018–Kuwaiti authorities should allow independent journalist Abdullah al-Saleh to return to Kuwait without fear of imprisonment or reprisal for his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A Kuwaiti national security court on December 25, 2017, found al-Saleh, a YouTube reporter and former columnist for the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jareeda, guilty…
Azerbaijani court sentences local journalist to six years in prison
New York, January 12, 2018–A district court in Azerbaijan today convicted veteran investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarli on charges of illegally crossing the border, resisting police arrest, and contraband, and sentenced him to six years in prison, media reported.
Airstrike injures two Syrian reporters in southern Idlib
Abdulkadir al-Bakri, a correspondent for the pro-opposition Qasioun News Agency in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, and Abdulkadir al-Abdo, a reporter for pro-opposition Al-Jisr TV, were injured in a January 11, 2018 airstrike while covering clashes in the south of Idlib province, according to their employers and the Syrian Journalists’ Association.
Mexican journalist attacked by police in Guerrero state
Mexico City, January 10, 2018–Authorities in Mexico’s Guerrero state should thoroughly and credibly investigate alleged police violence against a reporter in the town of La Concepción on January 7, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. According to statements five reporters gave to local media after the alleged violence, state policemen attacked a journalist covering…
Syrian militia hold two media activists in Idlib
The Syrian militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took captive two media activists, Hossam Mahmoud and Amjed al-Maleh, in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib in December 2017, according to news reports, the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, and the Syrian Journalists’ Association.