2015

Of 69 journalists killed for their work in 2015, 40 percent died at the hands of Islamic militant groups such as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. More than two-thirds of the total killed were singled out for murder. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

New York, December 27, 2015–Naji Jerf, editor-in-chief of the independent monthly Hentah and the maker of documentary films on the militant group Islamic State, was shot and killed in broad daylight today by unknown assailants with a silenced pistol in front of a building that houses Syrian opposition news outlets in downtown Gaziantep, Turkey, near…

New York, December 21, 2015–Sudanese authorities should drop all charges against two newspaper editors potentially facing the death penalty on charges stemming from their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, December 16, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Ahmed Mohamed al-Mousa, a member of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently. Al-Mousa was killed today by a group of masked men in Idlib, Syria, according to the citizen journalist group, which CPJ honored last month with its 2015 International Press Freedom Award.

Egypt is second only to China as the world’s worst jailer of journalists in 2015. Worldwide, the number of journalists behind bars for their work declined moderately during the year, but a handful of countries continue to use systematic imprisonment to silence criticism. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

While just under 200 journalists are behind bars, CPJ witnessed several memorable releases in 2015, including in Vietnam, Ethiopia, and even secretive Eritrea. Some of the journalists had spent years behind bars; they endured isolation and several say they were tortured. This year, CPJ’s advocacy contributed to the release of at least 31 journalists. Some…

Dear Prosecutor General Nabil Sadiq. The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to you because of our deep concern for photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid, known as Shawkan, who is due to stand trial in Cairo Criminal Court on December 12, 2015. Shawkan’s lawyers told CPJ they will ask the court to release him from custody We request that you support this request. Shawkan was at Rabaa Al-Adawiya in August 2013 not as a protester or a criminal, but as a journalist.

New York, December 1–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to release freelance investigative journalist and researcher Ismail Alexandrani. The journalist was charged today with publishing false news and belonging to the banned group, the Muslim Brotherhood, according to news reports.