CPJ Highlights: Year-End Edition
There is no way to sugar coat it–this has been a terrible year for press freedom around the world. A record number of journalists are in jail. Violence remains stubbornly high. Political leaders who should be defending press freedom–including U.S. President Donald Trump–are instead vilifying journalists and undermining the role of the media. These challenges…
Yemeni TV guards injured, others taken hostage by Houthi forces
New York, December 4, 2017 — Gunmen from the Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, on December 2 stormed the Sanaa headquarters of the television channel Yemen Today and detained the channel’s employees, according to news reports. Mohammed Ghobari, a Reuters correspondent in Sanaa, told CPJ that at least three building guards were…
Russia designates nine U.S.-funded news outlets as foreign agents
New York, December 5, 2017–Russia’s Justice Ministry announced today that it has designated nine U.S. government-funded press outlets as “foreign agents,” under a newly expanded law, according to reports. The ministry named the outlets as the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and seven of its affiliates, and Voice of America. Under the law, outlets…
Malta arrests 10 suspects over murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia
Brussels, December 4, 2017–Maltese police, armed forces, and security services today arrested 10 suspects in connection with the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced. Caruana Galizia was killed on October 16 when her car was blown up. In Malta, police have 48 hours to question suspects before charging or releasing…
Vietnam upholds blogger Mother Mushroom’s 10-year jail sentence
Bangkok, November 30, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned a Vietnamese appeals court’s decision today to uphold a 10-year prison sentence against blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, widely known as “Me Nam” or “Mother Mushroom.”
CPJ joins coalition to establish sports and human rights center
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined a coalition of international sport organizations, civil society, and governments that are establishing an independent Centre for Sport and Human Rights. In a statement published today, the Mega-Sporting Events Platform for Human Rights, which CPJ is part of, outlined its commitment to establishing the center in 2018.
Icebox containing two heads found outside broadcaster in Mexico
Mexico City, November 29, 201–An icebox containing two unidentified severed heads and a threatening message was discovered yesterday evening outside the offices of the news broadcaster Televisa in Guadalajara, Mexico, according to Reuters report.