Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of March 27
Erdoğan, in Washington, says not at war with press; bodyguards insult, harass journalists Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, visiting Washington, on Thursday told the American television station CNN that he and his government were “not at war with the press,” in remarks broadcast after his security detail harassed, insulted, and attempted to forcibly eject critical…
In Somaliland, authorities order newspaper to close down
Nairobi, March 31, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland to reopen the daily Codka Shacabka (The Voice of the People). The attorney general’s office issued an order March 24 for the privately owned paper to immediately cease publication, according to human rights campaigners.
Blogger sentenced amid clampdown in Vietnam
Bangkok, March 31, 2016 – In a mounting clampdown on dissent, Vietnam sentenced a prominent blogger on Wednesday to four years in prison on charges of disseminating “propaganda against the state,” according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the sentence and calls for the immediate release of all journalists wrongfully held behind…
Brazilian radio reporter survives shooting
São Paulo, March 31, 2016–Brazilian radio journalist Jair Pereira Teixeira, who reported on crime and corruption in Forquilha, a city in northeastern Ceará state, survived after being shot on Sunday, according to news reports. Police arrested two suspected attackers Monday.
Chinese police arrest siblings of Germany-based journalist
New York, March 28, 2016 – Chinese police on Sunday arrested two brothers and a sister of journalist Zhang Ping, who lives in Germany, from his family’s hometown, the journalist told CPJ. The arrests came a week after Zhang published an article decrying the disappearance of another Chinese journalist. Zhang told the Committee to Protect…
Second Indian journalist arrested in Chhattisgarh in one week
New York, March 28, 2016 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Indian authorities to release journalist Deepak Jaiswal, and to cease harassing and jailing journalists for their work. Police arrested Jaiswal, a reporter for the Hindi-language daily Dainadini, in the Bastar region of the central Indian state Chhattisgarh on Saturday. He is…
Footage shows journalist being punched outside corruption court in Uganda
The broadcast journalist Judith Naluggwa, who works for the state-owned station Bukedde Television, was attacked outside a Ugandan court on March 23, 2016 while reporting on a case of a minister at the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala, according to the local press freedom group Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda.
Family of Chinese blogger taken away after being questioned over critical letter
New York, March 25, 2016–U.S.-based blogger Wen Yunchao told CPJ today he believes that government officials have detained his parents and brother after two weeks of police questioning the family about his alleged connection to an open letter calling on President Xi Jinping to resign.
Cuban blogger jailed for five days after trying to cover protest
An independent Cuban blogger and activist was held in police custody for five days after attempting to cover a protest by the prominent dissident group, Ladies in White, according to press reports. Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca told CPJ he was apprehended by a group of men in the Miramar neighborhood of Havana, on March 20,…