Attacks on the Media

Authorities in the Indian state of Odisha must thoroughly investigate the death of journalist Rohit Biswal, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that members of the press can cover security issues safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Saturday, February 5, Biswal was reporting from Odisha’s Kalahandi district when an improvised explosive device detonated, killing him at the scene, according to multiple news reports. Biswal, a reporter with the local Odia-language newspaper Dharitri, was photographing posters put up by Maoist rebels asking residents to boycott upcoming local elections when he was killed, according to…Read more

Pakistan authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Hasnain Shah and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. On Monday, January 24, two unidentified people on a motorcycle shot and killed Shah, a senior crime reporter for the privately owned news channel Capital TV and a council member of the Lahore Press Club, according to multiple news reports and a report by Capital TV. Shah was sitting in his car at a traffic light outside the press club, a professional journalists’ association, when two masked…Read more

At least 27 journalists were killed due to their work in 2021, with India and Mexico topping the list of countries with the most media worker deaths, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ final data for the year. Of the total – which has risen by three since the publication of CPJ’s December 9 report on attacks on the press – 21 were singled out for murder in retaliation for their reporting. Four more were killed while reporting from conflict zones, and two others were killed covering protests or street clashes that turned deadly. CPJ is still investigating the…Read more

Indian authorities must conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the recent attacks on journalists in the eastern state of Tripura, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 21, in the run-up to municipal elections scheduled to begin tomorrow, groups of people allegedly working for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition Trinamool Congress clashed in the streets of the state capital, Agartala, injuring at least 19 people, according to news reports. At least five journalists were among those injured, according to the news website Newslaundry and Santosh Gope, secretary of Tripura Journalists Union,…Read more

 Pakistan authorities must thoroughly and impartially investigate the killing of Muhammad Zada Agra and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 8, two unidentified men fatally shot Agra, who covered politics, corruption, and the activities of local drug cartels and criminal groups on his Facebook page Citizen Journalist PK and its corresponding YouTube channel, near his home in Sakhakot city in the Malakand district, according to news reports. Agra was also the former district president of the Insaf Students Federation, the student wing of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party, according…Read more

Authorities in Nigeria must prioritize the safety of journalists covering protests and hold officers responsible for abuses accountable, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. On October 20, in three separate incidents, police officers arrested, harassed, or beat up three journalists–Sikiru Obarayese, Abisola Alawode, and Adefemi Akinsanya—as they covered memorials marking the one-year anniversary of killings at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, the journalists told CPJ by phone. On October 20, 2020, Nigerian security forces shot and killed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate during protests calling for an end…Read more

Pakistan authorities must thoroughly and swiftly investigate the killing of Shahid Zehri, hold those responsible to account, and do everything in their power to protect the safety of members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 10, Zehri, a reporter for the privately owned news channel Metro 1 News, was killed in an explosion while driving his car in the southern city of Hub in the Lasbela district of Baluchistan province, according to various news reports citing local police officials, and a report by his employer. The Baloch Liberation Army, an ethnic separatist group,…Read more