Two editors at critical magazine Nokta arrested in Turkey for election coverage
Istanbul, November 4, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest of two editors in Istanbul Monday and calls on authorities to immediately release them. Cevheri Güven and Murat Çapan, of the privately owned weekly magazine Nokta, were arrested in their newsroom over a front-page cover on the results of Turkey’s election, according to reports.
Iran steps up pressure on media with arrests of at least five journalists
New York, November 4, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by news reports that Iranian authorities have recently detained at least five local journalists, including the reformist journalists Issa Saharkhiz and Ehsan Mazandarani, and reporter Saman Sarfarzaee, who were all arrested Monday.
Radio reporter murdered in the Philippines
Bangkok, November 4, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killing of Jose Bernardo, a radio reporter who was shot and killed on Saturday in the capital of the Philippines, according to news reports. Authorities must impartially investigate the murder and bring the perpetrators swiftly to justice, CPJ said today.
Pakistan must pursue killers of Zaman Mehsud and bring them to justice
New York, November 3, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Pakistan to investigate the killing of local journalist Zaman Mehsud who, according to reports, was shot dead in the Tank district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province today.
In India, politics of beef and rising intolerance threaten press freedom
The violence over the tightening of laws banning the consumption of beef in parts of India and debate over the reach of a right-wing Hindu agenda are having an impact on press freedom. An editor who wrote about the benefits of beef was fired last week, journalists have received death threats from extremist groups, and…
Two British journalists convicted in Indonesia over visa violations
New York, November 3, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the conviction of British filmmakers Neil Bonner and Rebecca Prosser who, according to reports, were sentenced to two and a half month in prison in Indonesia today. The conviction represents a failure of the government to reverse its long-standing anti-media policies.
In Bangladesh, publisher stabbed to death and three injured in attacks
New York, November 2, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns two separate attacks in Dhaka on Saturday that, according to reports, killed and injured, respectively, two publishers who had produced books by the murdered Bangladeshi-American publisher Avijit Roy. Two writers were also injured in one of the attacks.
Report highlights Turkey’s troubled press freedom record
Turkish authorities should end impunity for attacks against journalists, decriminalize insult and defamation, stop harassing critical news outlets, and release imprisoned journalists, according to “Press Freedom in Turkey’s Inter-Election Period,” a report published Saturday by the Vienna-based International Press Institute. Muzaffar Suleymanov, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program researcher, contributed to the report.
In China, harsh penalties for ‘false news’ make it harder for reporters to work
China’s journalists and bloggers, already under threat of persecution, face new risks from November 1, when amendments to the country’s criminal law come into effect. Under the amendment, passed in August by legislative body the National People’s Congress, those convicted of spreading false news about disasters or epidemics will face harsh penalties.