Journalists on trial in France after calling Azerbaijan a dictatorship
New York, September 7, 2017–The French justice ministry should dismiss criminal defamation charges the government of Azerbaijan brought against journalists Elise Lucet and Laurent Richard, and allow the pair to continue their work without obstruction, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Kazakh editor convicted of money laundering, banned from journalism
New York, September 7, 2017–A Kazakh court today handed down a suspended prison sentence to Zhanbolat Mamay, editor of the independent newspaper Sayasi kalam/Tribuna, for charges of money laundering, and banned him from working as a journalist for three years, according to media reports. Mamay said he plans to appeal.
Separatists in east Ukraine ‘sentence’ blogger to 14 years in captivity
Pro-Russia separatists in the rebel stronghold of Luhansk, east Ukraine, took Eduard Nedelyayev, a Ukrainian blogger, captive in November last year, according to local media reports. The group claims authority over a region it has named the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR).
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 3, 2017
Columnist’s passport returned Turkish authorities on September 7 returned Aslı Erdoğan, a former advisory board member of the shuttered pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem and a frequent columnist, her passport, according to the Hürriyet Daily News website, which cites Erdoğan’s lawyer.
Bolivian radio journalist under house arrest, facing charges after covering protest
Bogotá, September 5, 2017–Bolivian authorities must drop charges against a radio journalist arrested while covering a violent demonstration last week in the capital city of La Paz, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority seek to silence the same media outlet
Beirut, September 5, 2017–Israel should allow the al-Hurriya media network and its affiliates to resume work without fear of harassment, and the Palestinian Authority should release Ayman al-Qawasme, the chairman of the same media network, from its custody, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Editor of Indian newspaper shot dead outside her home
New Delhi, September 5, 2017–Authorities in India’s Karnataka state must thoroughly investigate and bring to justice the killers of Gauri Lankesh, an independent journalist who was shot dead today outside her home in Bangalore, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
Prominent newspaper folds under official pressure in Cambodia
Bangkok, September 5, 2017–The Cambodia Daily stopped publication yesterday under official threat of forced closure over allegations of tax evasion, according to a statement released by the paper. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the silencing of the newspaper and called for an end to Cambodia’s harassment of all independent media.
CPJ Highlights: September edition
Press Freedom Tracker continues to document press freedom incidents in the U.S. “I’m really doing this to show you how damned dishonest these people are,” President Trump said during his August rally in Phoenix. “Truly dishonest people in the media and the fake media, they make up stories. … They don’t report the facts.”
DRC journalist faces defamation charge over report on minister
New York City, September 1, 2017–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should drop all charges against Jeef Mwingamb, editor-in-chief of the weekly Le Fédéral, and release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.