Attacks on the Media

At least 27 Bangladeshi journalists attacked, harassed while covering political rallies

Bangladesh authorities must immediately and impartially investigate the assaults on at least 27 journalists covering recent political rallies and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Saturday, October 28, at least 27 journalists covering rallies in the capital of Dhaka were attacked by supporters of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the ruling Awami League party, as well as police, according to a statement by local press freedom group Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media, several journalists who spoke to CPJ, and various news reports. BNP demonstrators demanded that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the…Read more

Delhi home of Indian journalists Khushboo and Nadeem Akhtar set ablaze

Authorities in the Indian capital of Delhi must swiftly and impartially investigate the arson attack on the home of journalists Khushboo and Nadeem Akhtar, as well as the threats of death and rape, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. In the early hours of August 30, the Akhtar family home in the Sultanpuri area of northwest Delhi was set ablaze, according to news reports and Khushboo Akhtar, who spoke with CPJ by phone. The Akhtar sister and brother team run Pal Pal News, a YouTube-based political affairs channel with more…Read more

Sri Lankan mob holds 3 journalists captive for 5 hours

  • Posted on September 4, 2023
  • /Under Assault
Sri Lankan authorities must investigate the recent harassment of freelance Tamil journalists Selvakumar Nilanthan, Valasingham Krishnakumar, and Antony Christopher Christiraj and hold the perpetrators responsible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Around 12:30 p.m. on August 22, approximately 50 Sinhalese men led by a Buddhist monk surrounded vehicles holding the three journalists after they reported on alleged state-backed encroachments on Tamil cattle farmers’ land in the Mylathamadu area of the eastern district of Batticaloa, according to news reports, the rights group Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, and the three journalists, who spoke to…Read more

Armed men attack Nigerian journalists covering clashes in Bayelsa state

  • Posted on September 4, 2023
  • /Under Assault
Nigerian authorities should swiftly identify and hold to account those responsible for recently attacking a group of journalists in southern Bayelsa state, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.  On August 14, a group of unidentified men carrying guns, knives, and sticks attacked journalists who were reporting on the aftermath of clashes between younger members of the Opu Nembe community and their leaders, according to the journalists, who spoke with CPJ, and news reports. The men assaulted and robbed one journalist and stole equipment from two others. Two of the journalists were injured while…Read more

At least 7 Ugandan journalists assaulted, robbed at news conferences

  • Posted on August 14, 2023
  • /Under Assault
Ugandan authorities should investigate and prosecute those responsible for assaulting, robbing, and harassing seven journalists at two separate news conferences, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On July 20, unidentified men punched and kicked at least six journalists at the headquarters of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) in the capital city of Kampala and stole several of their mobile phones, according to media reports and five of the journalists, who spoke to CPJ. In a separate incident that day, John Xerxes Ogulei, a reporter with the privately owned Teso Broadcasting Services, told CPJ…Read more

Bangladeshi journalist Golam Rabbani Nadim beaten to death after reporting on local politician

Bangladesh authorities must investigate the killing of journalist Golam Rabbani Nadim and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. At around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14, a group of men ambushed Nadim, a correspondent for privately owned website Banglanews24 and broadcaster Ekattor TV, while he was traveling home on his motorcycle in the Bakshiganj area in the Jamalpur district of northern Mymensingh division, according to news reports, security footage of the incident published by Ekattor TV, and a witness account by Al Mujahid Babu, a journalist present at the scene. A group…Read more

Journalists harassed, 1 beaten after opposition protest coverage in Pakistan

  • Posted on June 7, 2023
  • /Under Assault
Pakistani authorities must cease harassing journalists covering the country’s political unrest and respect the media’s right to report freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Since May 16, police have visited the homes of at least three journalists who reported from the scene of a May 9 protest and attack on an army corps commander’s residence, according to news reports, a statement by the Lahore Press Club reviewed by CPJ, and journalists who spoke to CPJ. On Tuesday, May 23, the Lahore High Court ordered authorities to cease harassing journalists and media…Read more

Malawi journalist Francis Mzindiko assaulted while covering political event

  • Posted on June 7, 2023
  • /Under Assault
Malawi authorities should thoroughly and speedily investigate the recent assault of journalist Francis Mzindiko and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On the morning of May 17, political activists attacked Mzindiko, a photographer with the privately owned Times Group newspaper, while he covered a fight between supporters of the ruling Malawi Congress Party and its allied United Transformation Movement in the city of Blantyre, according to media reports, a statement by the Malawi chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa regional press freedom group, and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ.…Read more

Indian soldiers beat 3 journalists in Manipur

Authorities in the northeast Indian state of Manipur must investigate the beating of journalists Soram Inaoba, Nongthombam Johnson, and Brahmacharimayum Dayananda, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On the afternoon of Monday, May 22, soldiers with the Indian Army’s Jat Regiment assaulted the three journalists while they were covering a fire in the New Checkon area of Imphal, the state capital, according to multiple news reports and Bijoy Kakchingtabam, president of the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union, who spoke to CPJ. Soldiers dragged the three journalists from the building where they…Read more

Lesotho journalist Ralikonelo Joki killed after radio show 

Lesotho authorities must launch a credible investigation into the killing of journalist Ralikonelo ‘Leqhashasha’ Joki and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.  Around 10 p.m. on Sunday, May 14, an unknown number of people shot Joki in the head once and body at least 13 times as he left the privately owned radio station Ts’enolo FM in the capital, Maseru, according to multiple news reports and a statement by the Lesotho chapter of regional press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA).  Joki, the host of the current affairs show “Hlokoana-La-Tsela” (I Heard…Read more