Liberia should reform libel laws in wake of $1.8 million civil lawsuit against Front Page Africa
New York, April 11, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over a US$1.8 million civil defamation lawsuit against Front Page Africa, a privately owned Liberian newspaper that has long been the subject of complaints and harassment for its critical reporting on successive governments.
Ex-politician threatens two Brazilian radio reporters
A former city council president in the northeastern Brazilian town of Patos threatened two local radio show hosts, Jozivan Antero and Abrantes Júnior, on March 15, 2018, days after they reported on accusations of alleged corruption during their two shows, according to the news website Central Vale Notícia.
Two journalists assaulted in West Bengal state, India
New Delhi, April 11, 2018–Authorities in West Bengal state must identify and bring to justice those who assaulted Biplab Mondal, a photojournalist with the Times of India Kolkata city bureau, and Manas Chattopadhyay, a reporter with the regional ETV Bharat television channel, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Mondal and Chattopadhyay were covering a…
Journalists covering unrest in the DRC face arrests, assault, and internet shutdowns
On New Year’s Eve, as the world prepared to ring in 2018, Congolese journalist Edmon Izula was being repeatedly hit with a rifle and threatened at gunpoint by a member of the state security forces. Iluza was one of at least three journalists harassed by authorities that day, in a scenario that has become common…
Weight of legal cases and threats leave India’s journalists feeling exposed and alone
The media is in the worst state India has ever seen. That is how several journalists described the current climate in dozens of conversations with CPJ during a trip to Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi earlier this year. While the threats they outlined–political pressure, self-censorship, defamation suits, and attacks–are not a new phenomenon in India, many…
Freedom of speech is guaranteed Aliyev says as Azerbaijan blocks news websites
President Ilham Aliyev claims that in Azerbaijan the internet is free and press freedom is guaranteed. But ahead of the April 11 snap elections, authorities have systematically silenced critical voices online through amending laws and blocking news websites, and hackers have attacked independent news outlets.
CPJ calls on Israel to hold killers of Yaser Murtaja to account
Beirut, April 9, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned comments by Israel’s defense minister over the weekend that appear to justify the killing of Palestinian journalist Yaser Murtaja in Gaza, and called on authorities to hold to account anyone who shot journalists with live ammunition. Murtaja died on April 7 of injuries sustained the…
Czech investigative journalists say police repeatedly questioned them
Brussels, April 6, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Czech authorities to ensure that journalists can work without interference. Three Czech investigative journalists issued a joint statement on April 3 that said police tried to intimidate them by repeatedly bringing them in for questioning over their reporting on Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.