Media Freedom

Pakistani journalists abroad face terrorism investigations at home

Pakistan authorities must cease harassing foreign-based journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Shaheen Sehbai, Sabir Shakir, and Moeed Pirzada and allow them to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Saturday, June 10, police in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad opened a criminal and terrorism investigation into freelance U.S.-based journalists Khan and Sehbai, along with two former army officers, for allegedly “inciting people to attack military installations, spread terrorism, and create chaos” on May 9 after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, according to news reports and the two journalists, who spoke with CPJ…Read more

CPJ concerned by India Law Commission’s recommendation to expand sedition law

The Indian government must repeal the country’s sedition law and reject recommendations from the Law Commission to retain and expand the legislation, as it would impinge on press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.  On May 24, the commission, which advises the Indian government on legal reforms, recommended retaining the country’s sedition law, expanding the definition of sedition, and increasing the punishment for violating the law, citing the need for national security. India’s Supreme Court suspended the law in May 2022. The Indian government had promised to “re-consider” and “re-examine” the British colonial-era law after its constitutional validity was challenged in the…Read more

2023 World Press Freedom Index – journalism threatened by fake content industry

The 21st edition of the World Press Freedom Index, compiled annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), sheds light on major and often radical changes linked to political, social and technological upheavals. According to the 2023 World Press Freedom Index – which evaluates the environment for journalism in 180 countries and territories and is published on World Press Freedom Day (3 May) – the situation is “very serious” in 31 countries, “difficult” in 42, “problematic” in 55, and “good” or “satisfactory” in 52 countries. In other words, the environment for journalism is “bad” in seven out of ten…Read more

Nigerian journalists Gidado Yushau and Alfred Olufemi convicted of conspiracy, defamation

The conviction of Nigerian journalists Gidado Yushau and Alfred Olufemi on conspiracy and defamation charges sends a chilling message to the Nigerian press and highlights the urgent need for authorities to reform the country’s laws and ensure journalism is not criminalized, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.  On February 7, a magistrate court in Nigeria’s southern Kwara State convicted Yushau, publisher of the privately owned website News Digest, and freelance reporter Olufemi of criminal defamation and conspiracy, according to a copy of the judgment reviewed by CPJ and phone interviews with the…Read more

Maldives parliament considers amendment restricting journalists’ coverage of elections

Maldives legislators should reject or revise a recently proposed legislative amendment restricting journalists’ ability to cover elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Monday, March 13, the Maldives parliament opened debate regarding an amendment to the country’s General Elections Act proposed in mid-February by a lawmaker with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party, which would allow only journalists working for media outlets registered with the government and approved by the Election Commission to report from voting and vote-counting sites on election days, according to multiple news reports and Ahmed Naif, secretary-general of the Maldives Journalists Association,…Read more

Pakistan bans broadcasting of ex-PM Imran Khan’s speeches, suspends ARY News channel

Pakistan authorities must immediately rescind the ban on satellite television channels airing live and recorded speeches by former Prime Minister Imran Khan and restore the license of the privately owned television broadcaster ARY News, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On the evening of Sunday, March 5, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, the country’s broadcast regulator, issued the ban on airing Khan’s speeches, which went into effect on Monday, and warned that violators will have their licenses canceled, according to news reports. Hours after the order was announced on Sunday, PEMRA suspended ARY…Read more

Concerns for UK press freedom over proposed national security bill

The draft National Security Bill which is at present being debated in Parliament, raises serious concerns for press freedom should it pass into law in its present form.    In an open letter to The Times on Wednesday 11 January 2023, an international media coalition of more than 40 signatories, warned of “serious concerns” with the bill and risk it poses to whistleblowing and public interest journalism.  The group said that whilst it understood that the aim of the bill was to update the UK’s espionage laws to protect national security, the reality…Read more

Indian authorities prevent Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri journalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo from flying abroad

Indian authorities should allow Kashmiri photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo to travel abroad freely and collect her Pulitzer Prize in New York, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Monday evening, immigration officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi stopped Mattoo, who was flying to New York to receive the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in a ceremony scheduled for Thursday, according to the journalist who spoke with CPJ by phone. Mattoo, a freelance photojournalist, was part of a Reuters team that won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for their coverage…Read more

Nigerian authorities criminally charge 2 journalists over political reporting

Nigerian authorities should immediately drop all charges against publisher Haruna Mohammed Salisu and reporter Idris Kamal and allow journalists to work free from legal harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.  On June 27, police in the city of Bauchi, the capital of northern Bauchi state, arrested and detained Salisu and Kamal, both with the privately owned Wikkitimesnews website, according to the journalists and their lawyer, Idrees Gambo, all of whom spoke to CPJ by phone, and a statement by the International Press Center, a local press freedom organization. Police released the journalists later that…Read more

Pakistan police open multiple criminal investigations into four journalists

Pakistan authorities must immediately drop their investigations into journalists Sami Abraham, Arshad Sharif, Sabir Shakir, and Imran Riaz Khan, and refrain from arresting and targeting journalists in retaliation for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Since May 18, police across Pakistan have filed multiple first information reports (FIR), which open an investigation, against Abraham, an anchor with the privately owned broadcaster BOL News and the host of a popular current affairs YouTube channel, Khan, an anchor with the privately owned broadcaster Express News, and Sharif and Shakir, both anchors with the privately owned broadcaster…Read more