Egypt bans Mada Masr website for 6 months over report on Israel-Gaza war
New York, October 31, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) to revoke its six-month ban on the independent news website Mada Masr over its reporting on the Israel-Gaza war and to reverse its decision to refer the outlet for prosecution. On Sunday, the SCMR announced that, after…
Moroccan authorities briefly arrest journalist Abdelmjid Amyay, ban Abdellatif al-Hamamouchi from traveling
On October 5, 2023, Moroccan police arrested journalist Abdelmjid Amyay, director of local independent news website Chams Post, at a coffee shop in the northeastern city of Oujda and detained him for one night for sharing articles about corruption in the city on his personal Facebook page, according to news reports. The following day, authorities…
Kyrgyz authorities threaten to block website of investigative outlet Kloop
Stockholm, September 8, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Kyrgyzstan authorities to abandon its latest threat to suspend independent investigative outlet Kloop if it does not remove a September 1 article containing allegedly false information. “Following their recent application to shutter the outlet and now their threat to block its website, Kyrgyz authorities’…
DRC enacts press law and digital code that criminalize journalism
New York, May 23, 2023—DRC authorities should swiftly reform the country’s new press law and digital code to ensure journalism is not criminalized and the media can work without undue restrictions or fear of prosecution, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. In April, Congolese authorities enacted new laws governing the press and online activity,…
Nicaraguan journalist Hazel Zamora arrested, charged with spreading false news
Guatemala City, May 9, 2023—Nicaraguan authorities should drop all criminal charges against journalist Hazel Zamora and end their legal harassment of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On May 5, police arrested Zamora while she traveled on a bus with her two children in the capital city of Managua, according to multiple…
Journalist Alyaksandr Mantsevich charged with ‘discrediting Belarus’
Paris, April 5, 2023—Belarusian authorities should drop all charges against journalist Alyaksandr Mantsevich, release him immediately, and stop prosecuting members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Authorities detained Mantsevich, the founder and editor-in-chief of the regional independent newspaper Regyonalnaya Gazeta, on March 15. On Monday, April 3, multiple…
Zimbabwe journalist Garikai Mafirakureva charged with publishing false information
On January 18, 2023, police in the southeastern Zimbabwe city of Masvingo arrested journalist Garikai Mafirakureva, according to media reports, a statement by the Zimbabwean chapter of the regional press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa, and Mafirakureva, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Authorities charged Mafirakureva, editor of the Masvingo Mirror newspaper,…
DRC defense minister files, withdraws false news complaint against reporter Stanis Bujakera
On March 9, 2023, Congolese Minister of Defense Gilbert Kabanda filed a criminal complaint accusing journalist Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala of publishing false rumors, according to news reports and a copy of that complaint, which CPJ reviewed. The complaint stemmed from a March 5 tweet by Bujakera, a correspondent for the France-based Jeune Afrique news website,…
Togo journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Isidore Kouwonou summoned over insult, false news allegations
Accra, March 6, 2023–Togolese authorities should drop all legal proceedings against journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Isidore Kouwonou and allow them to work free from harassment or threat of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Both journalists have been summoned to the country’s High Court in the capital city of Lomé for a trial…
Russian legislature adopts bill extending censorship on war reporting
Paris, March 2, 2023 – In response to multiple news reports that the lower house of the Russian parliament adopted amendments on Thursday, March 2, to expand existing penalties for spreading “fake” information about or discrediting participants on Russia’s side of the war in Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of…