CPJ calls on Bangladesh authorities to cease harassing staff of Prothom Alo newspaper

Bangladesh authorities must immediately drop all investigations into the staff of the Prothom Alo newspaper in retaliation for its work and allow its employees to do their jobs freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. In the early morning of Wednesday, March 29, authorities arrested Prothom Alo correspondent Shamsuzzaman Shams under the Digital Security Act for allegedly spreading “false news” in a March 26 article. On Wednesday evening, authorities in the capital city of Dhaka opened another DSA investigation into Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman, Shams, an unnamed camera operator at the outlet, and…Read more

Bangladeshi journalist Mamunur Rashid Nomani faces hearing over Digital Security Act charges

Police in Bangladesh’s southern city of Barisal should immediately drop all charges against journalist Mamunur Rashid Nomani and allow him to report without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Nomani, chief news editor of the privately owned newspaper The Daily Shahnama and editor of the Barisal Khabar news website, is due in court on April 4 to face charges against him and two others under two sections of the Digital Security Act stemming from a 2020 case, according to the journalist, who spoke with CPJ by phone, and a copy…Read more

At least 28 journalists harassed, beaten, denied access while covering Nigerian state elections

Nigerian authorities should thoroughly investigate incidents involving at least 28 journalists and media workers being harassed and attacked while covering state elections and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.  At least 28 members of the press were obstructed, harassed, or attacked while covering gubernatorial and state assembly elections across Nigeria on March 18 and 19, according to news reports and journalists who spoke with CPJ. “Nigerian authorities should swiftly identify and hold accountable those responsible for the recent attacks, harassment, and intimidation of journalists covering state elections…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

Zambian police briefly detain 2 Millennium TV journalists covering protest

Zambian authorities should refrain from detaining members of the press and should ensure journalists can cover protests without fear of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On March 10, authorities detained Namo Phiri and Abel Musonda, journalists at the privately owned broadcaster Millennium TV, while they covered a protest by opposition members at the Civic Center in the capital city of Lusaka, according to media reports and both journalists and station manager Mary Mbewe, all of whom spoke to CPJ via messaging app.  Phiri told CPJ that they were covering the protest when a…Read more

Ugandan journalist Andrew Arinaitwe detained on criminal trespass charges

Ugandan authorities should immediately release freelance journalist Andrew Arinaitwe and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Sunday, March 5, authorities arrested Arinaitwe while he was reporting at a boarding school in the central district of Wakiso, according to a statement shared with CPJ by Kiiza & Mugisha Advocates, a law firm representing the journalist, and tweets from the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda, a local press rights organization. Arinaitwe was on assignment with the weekly publication The Continent, which is distributed via messaging apps including WhatsApp, according to those…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

Indian journalist Devendra Khare shot in Uttar Pradesh

Authorities in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh must thoroughly investigate the shooting of journalist Devendra Khare and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. At about 7:30 p.m. on February 26, two masked men shot at Khare, a reporter for the privately owned Hindi-language broadcaster News1India, at his office in the Chandpur Balu Mandi area of the city of Jaunpur, according to multiple news reports and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ by phone. He was injured in his stomach and right hand and remained hospitalized in stable condition as of…Read more

At least 14 journalists detained, attacked, or harassed covering Nigeria’s election

At least 14 journalists and media workers were detained, harassed, or attacked while covering Nigeria’s presidential and federal elections, including private news website WikkiTimes owner Haruna Mohammed Salisu, who remains in police custody without charge, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Police detained Salisu on February 25 in Duguri town, southeastern Bauchi state, shortly after he and other reporters had met with the state governor, according to WikkiTimes editor Yakubu Mohammed, who spoke to CPJ, and a local coalition of press freedom groups. Police said they took Salisu into custody to protect him after supporters of…Read more

Ahead of elections, Nigerian journalist Jonathan Ugbal attacked, others denied access

Nigerian authorities should hold accountable those responsible for beating journalist Jonathan Ugbal, publicly advise political supporters to not attack the press, and not unduly hinder access to election-related sites, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Wednesday, February 22, about 20 supporters of Nigeria’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hit and kicked Ugbal, editor of the privately owned news site CrossRiverWatch, as he worked to report on a dispute between the political supporters and a community youth group outside a PDP office in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, according to a report…Read more