Myanmar detains, obstructs journalists from reporting
On May 31, 2015, Myanmar’s navy questioned and briefly detained several journalists. The journalists, who were in small boats, were attempting to reach a remote island off Myanmar’s southwestern coast where a ship carrying hundreds of migrants had drifted, according to news reports.
Journalist found dead in Veracruz, Mexico
New York, July 7, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Mexican authorities in the state of Veracruz to consider journalism as a motive in the death last week of Mexican journalist Juan Mendoza Delgado, investigate the case thoroughly, and ensure the killers are brought to justice.
Sri Lanka moves to re-establish restrictive media regulatory body
New York, July 7, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about Sri Lankan authorities’ decision to re-establish the Sri Lankan Press Council, a media regulatory body which gives the government powers to jail journalists in connection with their reporting.
Erdoğan vs the press: Insult law used to silence president’s critics
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is known for being intolerant of critics. During his third term as prime minister, Turkey was the leading jailer of journalists in the world with more than 60 behind bars at the height of the crackdown in 2012. Most of those have been released, but the press faces another threat–Article 299…
India should conduct thorough investigation into journalist’s death
New York, July 6, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Indian authorities to fully investigate the death of a local TV journalist in Madhya Pradesh state on Saturday. The family of Akshay Singh has called for the federal Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the case.
Journalist gunned down outside radio station in Mexico
New York, July 2, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s murder of Mexican journalist Filadelfo Sánchez Sarmiento in Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz, a municipality in the southern state of Oaxaca. Sánchez was shot at about 9:30 a.m. outside the offices of radio station La Favorita 103.3FM La Voz de la Sierra Sur, where he…
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, June 2015
Pushing for press freedom at European Games Azerbaijan, which ranks in fifth place on CPJ’s list of 10 Most Censored Countries, hosted the first-ever European Games in its capital, Baku, this month. One of the country’s most prominent journalists, Khadija Ismayilova, has been in jail there since December 2014 for reporting on sensitive issues, including…
In Turkey, jailed journalist given new prison term as third investigation begins
Istanbul, July 1, 2015–Turkish journalist Mehmet Baransu was handed a 10-month jail sentence by an Istanbul court on June 30 for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Twitter, according to reports. Baransu, a columnist and correspondent for the privately owned daily Taraf, is already in prison while authorities investigate him on separate charges, his lawyer…
Nigerian journalists investigating smuggling are beaten
Abuja, Nigeria, July 1, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an attack on two journalists who, according to one of the journalists and news reports, were left with serious injuries after being beaten and threatened on the grounds of the Nigeria Customs Service offices on June 25.