Attacks on the Media

Pakistan: TV channel reporter injured in attack in Balochistan

Pakistan Press Foundation Mujeeb Tareen, a reporter for the Aaj News television channel, was attacked by three armed men on the night of 6 October 2016, in the town of Pishin in Balochistan province. According to Tareen, he was working in his office when the accused Abdullah who had a metal clip and two other individuals armed with knives entered and struck him several times with these weapons. He was seriously injured in the attack and required 14 stitches to his chin, ear, neck and arms. He is now stable and has been…Read more

CPJ urges Pakistani officials to rescue Jang executive, keep other journalists safe

The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the kidnapping of Abid Abdullah, executive director of the Jang media group, and called on Pakistani authorities to ensure the safety of journalists who the kidnappers explicitly threatened. A group of unidentified gunmen intercepted Abdullah's car in the northwestern city of Peshawar in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province early yesterday morning as Abdullah and his driver, Zafar Hussain, departed for a hotel after a visit to the local printer of the daily Jang, the country's largest circulation newspaper. The gunmen fled with Abdullah in their vehicle. They also seized…Read more

Journalist detained over criminal defamation complaint in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi journalist Siddiqur Rahman Khan has been detained since September 1 after a criminal defamation complaint was filed against him under Article 57 of the 2006 Information and Communication Technology Act, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for Khan's immediate release and an end to the use of criminal charges to harass and stifle online media in Bangladesh. Khan, the editor-in-chief of news portal Dainikshiksha, was detained by cybercrime unit police in the Shikkha Bhaban district of Dhaka, the capital, according to reports. Police spokesman Masudur Rahman told reporters that Khan…Read more

Nigerian military threatens journalist for not revealing sources

The Nigerian military should cease threatening freelance journalist Ahmad Salkida with prosecution for not acting as an informer, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The military has said the journalist could face terrorism charges if he does not provide it with information he gained in the course of his reporting on the militant group Boko Haram. In a statement carried by Nigerian news websites on August 14, military spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman declared Salkida and two civil-society workers - Aisha Wakil and Ahmed Bolori - "wanted for interrogation" regarding the location of over two…Read more

Bangladesh journalists could face 14 years in prison for refuting rumour

The Committee to Protect Journalists has said that Bangladeshi authorities should drop all criminal proceedings against three journalists from the news website banglamail24, release them immediately, and restore press credentials to nine of their colleagues. The three journalists could face a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison if charged and convicted under a law governing online publication. Police on Sunday night arrested banglamail24 Executive Editor Maksukul Alam, acting Editor Shahadat Ullah Khan, and reporter Pranta Palash after the website published a report refuting a rumor that the prime minister's son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, had died in a plane…Read more

Indian journalist, magazine face criminal complaint for investigative report

 Indian authorities should shelve a criminal complaint against the weekly Indian magazine Outlook, its leadership, and freelance journalist Neha Dixit, and ensure the safety of the journalist and Outlook's staff, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on August 11th. On August 4, SC Koyal, an assistant solicitor general of the government of India at the Gauhati High Court, and Bijon Mahajan, a spokesman for the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), filed a criminal complaint against the English-language magazine Outlook, its publisher, Indranil Roy, its editor, Krishna Prasad, and Dixit. The complaint alleged that a July…Read more

At least two journalists killed in Pakistan blast

At least two journalists were among at least 70 people killed in a massive bomb blast at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, on August 8th, according to press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the attack. Mehmood Khan, a cameraman for DawnNews, and Aaj TV cameraman Shehzad Ahmed were at Quetta Civil Hospital reporting on a gathering of mourners grieving the murder of Bilal Kasi, president of the Baluchistan Bar Association, the reports said. Ahmed died at the scene of the blast, according to the Pakistani advocacy group Freedom Network, which promotes freedom of expression.…Read more

Journalists’ union condemns police raids on media in Jammu and Kashmir

This statement was originally published on samsn.ifj.org on 17 July 2016. The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) strongly protested against the Jammu and Kashmir police raids on all newspaper offices in the early hours of Saturday [16 July 2016] in Srinagar, stopping the printing of their editions and confiscating the already printed papers. Due to the police action, the Kashmir valley went without newspapers on Saturday. In a statement issued here on Sunday [17 July], the IJU President S N Sinha, Secretary-General Amar Devulapalli, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Vice-President Sabina Inderjit, Press Council of India…Read more

Gunshot and charges follow satirical column about commander

Media Institute of Southern Africa The Lesotho Times newspaper editor Lloyd Mutangamiri was shot on Saturday, July 9, at the gate of his lower Thamae residence in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, just before midnight. Lloyd was returning from his office after completing the Sunday Expressedition, a sister newspaper of Lesotho Times. Police confirmed that a single bullet was fired and that Mutangamiri suffered severe trauma, particularly to his mouth. He was hospitalised under 24-hour police security. Members of the public and his colleagues were not allowed to see him for security reasons. MISA Lesotho was…Read more

South African reporters attacked covering protests, broadcaster suspends journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by media reports that South Africa's public broadcaster suspended three journalists for opposing an editorial decision not to cover a protest. CPJ also calls for credible investigations into reports that police assaulted journalists covering unrest. At least five people have been killed and almost 200 people have been arrested this week as supporters of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party have taken to the streets of the capital and environs in often-violent protests against the ANC's leadership, according to media reports. Police and protesters have threatened…Read more