2014

  
Activists rally outside parliament in support of students occupying the building to protest a trade pact with China in Taipei on March 21, 2014. (AFP/Mandy Cheng)

Taiwan journalists feel pressure as elections approach

Political tensions are rising in Taiwan ahead of local and municipal elections due at the end of November. The vote is expected to test the popularity of the ruling Kuomintang Party (KMT), which advocates greater integration with China and which earlier this year sparked protests when it tried to pass a new economic cooperation deal…

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News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, October 2014

Turkish government makes commitments to CPJ In an unprecedented meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other officials in early October, a joint delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Press Institute raised concerns about the climate for press freedom in Turkey, including the imprisonment of journalists and online restrictions. In…

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Russian actor condemned for wearing press insignia and firing weapons

Russian actor Mikhail Porechenkov has joined basketball star Dennis Rodman, who declared North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un his best friend, and Jennifer Lopez who sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President” to the authoritarian leader of Turkmenistan, on the list of celebrities who have made human rights faux pas.

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Cameroon journalists questioned in military court for withholding information

Lagos, Nigeria, October 31, 2014–Two journalists in Cameroon accused of withholding information from the state have been interrogated by a military court and ordered not to leave the country, according to news reports.

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Tamás Bodoky, editor-in-chief of Atlatszo, which advocates for information access. (AFP/Peter Kohalmi)

In Hungary, an independent website defies censorship and pressure

A delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists, led by board member Kati Marton, traveled to Hungary in October on CPJ’s first fact-finding and advocacy mission to an EU member state. We went there in response to concerning reports of deteriorating conditions for the press, and met dozens of journalists, media lawyers, managers, rights defenders,…

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Azerbaijan jails yet another critical reporter

New York, October 30, 2014–A court in Azerbaijan today sentenced Khalid Garayev, a reporter for the embattled opposition newspaper Azadliq and the technical director of “Azerbaijani Hour,” Azadliq’s online TV program, to almost a month in prison on charges of hooliganism and disobeying the police, according to news reports.

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Protesters demonstrate against a proposed amendment to Burkina Faso's constitution that would allow President Blaise Compaore to extend his term. (AFP/Issouf Sanogo)

Press in Burkina Faso must be protected amid anti-government protests

Lagos, Nigeria, October 30, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that protesters stormed and looted the offices of Burkina Faso’s national broadcaster Radiodiffusion Television du Burkina in the capital, Ouagadougou, today. Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest a constitutional amendment that would allow President Blaise Compaore to seek re-election next…

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People protesting in Budapest about a new Internet tax on data use hold up their smartphones. (Reuters/Laszlo Balogh)

Mission Journal: Creeping authoritarianism in Hungary

On the Buda side of the River Danube stands the glass and steel headquarters of the thriving German-owned entertainment channel RTL. On the Pest side of the Hungarian capital, tucked in a corner of a converted department store, lies the cramped office of struggling online news outlet Atlatszo.

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A message from a scared Egyptian journalist

Tamer Abuarab’s article today under the title “A message from a scared person” offers strong insight into why we at CPJ decided to produce our upcoming documentary film, “Under Threat,” and make an appeal for journalists to speak out with the hashtag #EgyptLastWord.

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Argentine authorities raid news outlet and confiscate materials

New York, October 30, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Tuesday’s raid by Argentine police on the offices of La Brújula 24, a radio station and news website, in which the outlet’s journalistic materials were confiscated.

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