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Category: Legal

  • Trump’s Border Czar Plans To Launch “War” On Immigrants

    Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Homan. We talked about Homan one time. This is a serious guy, whether right or wrong, he’s serious about what he visualizes. Okay. And his vision is to deport 13 million people. Now, I’ve always thought if […]

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  • BCBS Caught Charging Patients Under Anesthesia For Every 15 Minutes

    Blue Cross Blue Shield, in the quiet of the night, came up with this rule that is, if you’re going to have surgery, you can only have so much anesthesia and then you’re going to have to pay for it out of your pocket or the doctor’s going to take the loss by keeping you […]

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  • Criminal Judges Granted Criminal Pardon By Biden

    How does it gets any crazier than to have the President of the United States pardon two judges that allowed children, because they were getting kickbacks, getting paid money to take children as young as eight years old and to put them in criminal facilities? Biden okayed it. We’re going to let this dirt bag […]

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  • The Biden/Trump Corruption Contest

    Hi, I’m Mike Papantonio, and this is America’s Lawyer, where every week we dig behind the headlines to give you the details and information that corporate media won’t give you because their advertisers won’t let them. They’ll lose advertising dollars if they talk about most of these stories. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a […]

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  • Kyrgyzstan court upholds convictions of 4 anti-corruption journalists

    New York, December 18, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Kyrgyzstan court’s decision upholding convictions against four journalists from anti-corruption investigative outlet Temirov Live, two of whom were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

    On Wednesday, the Bishkek City Court upheld an October 10 first instance court decision sentencing Makhabat Tajibek kyzy to six years in prison, Azamat Ishenbekov to five years in prison, and reporter Aike Beishekeyeva and former reporter Aktilek Kaparov to three years of probation. Prosecutors did not appeal the acquittals of seven other current and former Temirov Live staff.

    “Temirov Live’s bold anti-corruption coverage has made it the Kyrgyz government’s number one target. By upholding the outrageous prison sentences against director Makhabat Tajibek kyzy and presenter Azamat Ishenbekov, Kyrgyz authorities are confirming that they have no response to the outlet’s reporting but repression,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Authorities in Kyrgyzstan should immediately release Tajibek kyzy and Ishenbekov, not contest their Supreme Court appeals and the appeals of journalists Aike Beishekeyeva and Aktilek Kaparov, and end their campaign against the independent press.”

    Temirov Live founder Bolot Temirov told CPJ from exile that the journalists plan to appeal their convictions to Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court.

    Kyrgyz police arrested 11 current and former staff of Temirov Live, a local partner of the global Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), in January on charges of calling for mass unrest, accusing the outlet of “indirectly” making such calls by “discrediting” authorities in their videos.

    Authorities previously deported Temirov, an international award-winning investigative reporter, and banned him from entering Kyrgyzstan for five years in retaliation for his work.

    In November, CPJ submitted a report on Kyrgyz authorities’ unprecedented crackdown on independent reporting under current President Sadyr Japarov to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of its 2025 Universal Periodic Review of the country’s human rights record.

    On Tuesday, Japarov accused U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kyrgyz service and “five or six other sites” of “using freedom of speech as a cover” to spread false information and warned them to “be careful” with their reporting on corruption.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Trump steps up actions against press with Des Moines Register lawsuit

    Washington, D.C., December 18, 2024–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns President-elect Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and Gannett, which was filed on Monday, for publishing a poll that showed him trailing Vice President Kamala Harris in the run-up to the November presidential election. 

    The lawsuit, which also includes pollster J. Ann Selzer and her polling firm, alleges that the poll amounted to “brazen election interference.”

    “The lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and Gannett is the latest in a series of legal attacks that President-elect Donald Trump has filed against media organizations,” said CPJ U.S., Canada, and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Using the courts to go after political enemies and silence what he perceives as unflattering narratives is concerning behavior from the president-elect. Journalists and news organizations must be free to do their jobs and cover the news without constant fear of legal retaliation from those they are covering.”

    Trump has repeatedly stated that he intends to use the courts to go after those who he believes have wronged him, including journalists and media outlets. ABC News last week agreed to pay a $15 million settlement in a defamation suit Trump filed against the network, along with an additional $1 million in legal fees.

    The president-elect has previously filed suit against major news outlets in retaliation for coverage he views as unfair. In October, Trump filed suit in a Texas court against CBS over an interview the network aired with then-Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. He has also sued the Pulitzer Board in relation to a prize it issued for reporting on the 2016 election.

    CPJ has detailed what’s at stake with Trump’s litigious approach to silencing journalists and outlets whose coverage he does not like in its recent U.S. election report.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • 7 Azerbaijani journalists with anti-corruption outlet, RFE/RL go on trial 

    New York, December 17, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Azerbaijani authorities to drop charges against six members of the anti-corruption investigative outlet Abzas Media and freelance journalist Farid Mehralizada, with U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Azerbaijani service, as a trial began Tuesday in the Serious Crimes Court of the capital, Baku.

    “The trial of RFE/RL’s Farid Mehralizada and six members of Azerbaijan’s most prominent anti-corruption investigative outlet, Abzas Media, epitomizes the way the Azerbaijani government has used retaliatory criminal charges to lock up vast swathes of the country’s leading independent journalists over the past year,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Azerbaijani authorities should immediately drop the charges against nearly two dozen journalists, including Mehralizada and the Abzas Media staff, who are currently on or awaiting trial and release them all.”

    Police arrested Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli, chief editor Sevinj Vagifgizi, project coordinator Mahammad Kekalov, and reporters Hafiz Babali, Nargiz Absalamova, and Elnara Gasimova between November 2023 and January 2024 on charges of conspiring to smuggle currency, accusing the outlet of illegally receiving Western donor funds. In May, police arrested Mehralizada, an economist who contributed anonymously to RFE/RL, as part of the Abzas Media case, though both Abzas Media and Mehralizada denied that he was connected to the outlet.

    The journalists are among more than 20 journalists and media workers charged with serious crimes in a major crackdown on the independent press and civil society in Azerbaijan since November 2023. Most of the journalists, who hail from some of Azerbaijan’s most prominent independent media, have been arrested on similar currency smuggling charges related to alleged Western funding, amid a decline in relations between Azerbaijan and the West.

    In August, authorities brought seven additional economic crime charges against the Abzas Media journalists and Mehralizada, including tax evasion and money laundering, which could see them jailed for up to 12 years.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Alvin Bragg’s Overreach Swayed Non-Guilty Verdict In Daniel Penny Case

    The Daniel Penny case in New York. Alvin Bragg’s decision to even bring the case was a terrible decision. Seven witnesses came out and said, yeah, the guy was threatening people. He was threatening commuters to kill them. And what you saw here was a jury pardon because they’re tired of it in New York. […]

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  • Belarusian journalist Ihar Karnei sentenced to additional 8 months in prison

    New York, December 13, 2024—A Belarusian court on Friday convicted freelance reporter Ihar Karnei of “malicious disobedience to the requirements of the prison administration” and sentenced him to an additional eight months in prison. Karnei is already serving a three-year prison sentence after being convicted in March 2024 on charges of participating in an extremist group.

    “The additional eight months’ imprisonment given to journalist Ihar Karnei shows that the Belarusian authorities have little qualms about lashing out at members of the press already behind bars on spurious grounds,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should immediately release Karnei, along with all other jailed members of the press.”

    Karnei, who formerly freelanced with Radio Svaboda, the Belarus service of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was arrested in July 2023. State-owned newspaper Belarus Segodnya said that Karnei had collaborated with the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), which was the largest independent media association in Belarus until it was dissolved in 2021 and labeled an extremist group in 2023.

    After Karnei’s three-year sentence was upheld in June, he was transferred to Prison No. 17 in the city of Shklow, in the central eastern part of the country, and placed almost immediately in a solitary cell. Karnei is deprived of phone calls and parcels, and his family receives one out of four letters he sends, his wife Inna told CPJ in November.

    On November 28, 2024, banned human rights group  Viasna reported that Karnei was additionally charged with Article 411, Part 1, of the country’s criminal code, for allegedly disobeying the prison’s administration. There is no information about which of the prison’s requirements Karnei is accused of disobeying, according to the BAJ.

    Belarus was the world’s third-worst jailer of journalists, with at least 28 journalists behind bars on December 1, 2023, when CPJ conducted its most recent prison census.

    CPJ emailed Prison No. 17 for comment but did not receive any replies.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • America’s Hatred Of Insurance Companies Is Palpable

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  • News outlet subpoenaed by state of Texas in its suit against Google

    Digital news outlet 404 Media was subpoenaed by the state of Texas on Oct. 22, 2024, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit against Google in Midland County’s district court, according to court filings reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Google in 2022 on the state’s behalf, alleging that the company captured the biometric data of millions of its users in Texas without obtaining consent.

    The subpoena to 404 Media seeks communications and documents from investigative journalist Joseph Cox’s article on a leak from Google, including a copy of an internal Google database obtained by the outlet “which tracks six years worth of potential privacy and security issues.”

    In an announcement, 404 Media’s founders wrote, “Paxton’s subpoena seeks to turn 404 Media into an arm of law enforcement, which is not our role and which we have no interest in doing or becoming.”

    They added that attorneys representing the outlet “vociferously objected” to the subpoena on Dec. 6. The court filing, reviewed by the Tracker, argues the news organization is protected from having to disclose the information by the First Amendment, as well as laws in California — where the outlet is based — and Texas.

    404 Media’s founders, who declined to comment further when reached by the Tracker, wrote that the subpoena undermines a free and independent press and demonstrates an alarming trend.

    “It also highlights the fact that the alarm bells that have been raised about legal attacks on journalists in a second Trump administration are not theoretical; politicians already feel emboldened to use the legal system to target journalists,” they wrote. “Paxton’s subpoena highlights the urgency of passing the PRESS Act, a federal shield law that has already passed the House and which has bipartisan support but which Democrats in the Senate have dragged their feet on for inexplicable and indefensible reasons.”

    Paxton had previously sought records from Media Matters for America using a “civil investigative demand” — a type of administrative subpoena — in 2023 as part of a probe his office launched to investigate “potential fraudulent activity” by the media company. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction forbidding Paxton from pursuing Media Matters’ reporting materials.


    This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Media Plays Along As Trump Escapes Charges & Prosecutions

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  • Azerbaijani authorities detain at least 6 journalists on currency smuggling charges

    New York, December 6, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the Azerbaijani authorities’ detention of at least six journalists and media workers in the capital Baku on Friday.

    At around noon, independent journalist Ramin Jabrayilzade (also known as Ramin Deko) was detained at the Baku airport upon arrival from neighboring Georgia, where he was covering pro-EU protests. At the same time, law enforcement in different parts of the city detained Natig Javadli, Khayala Aghayeva, Aytaj Tapdig, Aynur Elgunesh, and Aysel Umudova, who work with the Germany-based independent media outlet Meydan TV.

    The six were accused of illegal currency smuggling and taken to the Baku Main Police Department, according to a statement from Meydan TV and Shamshad Agha, editor-in-chief of the Baku-based media outlet Argument.az, who is familiar with the case and who spoke to CPJ from Baku. The homes of some of the journalists were searched, and personal equipment and some of their belongings were seized, according to Meydan TV.

    “The detention of multiple Meydan TV journalists, occurring just as the United Nations’ COP29 climate conference wrapped up in Baku, is a sign of Azerbaijani authorities’ intention to continue the brutal media crackdown and a slap in the face of both the UN and democratic governments who just went to Baku to shake hands with Azerbaijani officials,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Azerbaijani authorities should immediately release Natig Javadli, Khayala Aghayeva, Aytaj Tapdig, Aynur Elgunesh, Aysel Umudova, and Ramin Deko, along with more than a dozen other leading journalists arrested on retaliatory charges in recent months, and end their unprecedented assault on the independent press.”

    The Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement to the pro-government news agency APA that the detentions were “based on the information received in connection with bringing illegal foreign currency into the country” and that “the investigation was underway.”

    Meydan TV refuted “all accusations” in the statement and called the detention and interrogation of the journalists “illegal.”

    Over the last year, Azerbaijani authorities have charged at least 15 journalists with major criminal offenses in retaliation for their work, 13 of whom are being held in pretrial detention. Most of those behind bars work for Azerbaijan’s last remaining independent media outlets and face currency smuggling charges related to the alleged receipt of Western donor funds.

    Azerbaijan’s relations with the West have deteriorated since 2023, when it seized Nagorno-Karabakh, leading to the flight of most of the region’s more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians. In February 2024, President Ilham Aliyev won a fifth consecutive term, and his party won a parliamentary majority in September elections that observers criticized as restrictive.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Hunter The Freakish Manchild Is Untouchable

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  • Whoopi Goldberg Finds Herself In Legal Trouble After NY Bakery Accusations

    The post Whoopi Goldberg Finds Herself In Legal Trouble After NY Bakery Accusations appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

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  • CPJ condemns 7-year jail sentence for Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu on spy charges

    New York, November 29, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a harsh seven-year jail sentence handed down to veteran Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu on Friday on espionage charges, and calls for his immediate release.

    Dong, 62, a columnist for the state-run newspaper Guangming Daily, was arrested in Beijing in February 2022 while having lunch with a Japanese diplomat, who was also briefly detained. Dong’s work has been published in the Chinese editions of The New York Times and the Financial Times, and he won a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 2006-2007.

    “Interacting with diplomats is part of a journalist’s job. Jailing journalists on bogus and vicious charges like espionage is a travesty of justice,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “We condemn this unjust verdict and call on the Chinese authorities to protect the right of journalists to work freely and safely in China. Dong Yuyu must be reunited with his family.”

    There was heavy police presence and journalists were asked to leave the court area in the capital Beijing where the sentence was handed down, according to Reuters.

    China is the world’s leading jailer of journalists, which had 44 journalists behind bars as of December 1, 2023, according to CPJ’s most recent annual prison census.

    China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed request for a comment on Dong’s sentencing.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Massive Pill Mill Scheme Leaves Path Of Death In Florida

    A Florida doctor and numerous accomplices have been arrested for a massive pill mill scheme that left scores of people dead from addiction. Mike Papantonio is joined by attorney Peter Mougey who has been on the forefront of opioid litigation in this country. Click here to learn more about Doctor Elaine Sharp’s pill mill scheme. […]

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  • CPJ, others condemn abusive lawsuits against Greek journalists who exposed spyware scandal

    The Committee to Protect Journalists and six other international press freedom organizations issued a joint statement on Friday, November 22, 2024, condemning the ongoing legal actions against journalists who exposed Greece’s Predator spyware scandal and urged Greek authorities to swiftly implement the European Union’s anti-SLAPP Directive to strengthen protections for journalists amid the growing trend of such lawsuits.

    Grigoris Dimitriadis, nephew of the Greek Prime Minister and former Secretary General of the Prime Minister’s Office, filed defamation lawsuits against reporters from several independent outlets following their “landmark reporting on the PredatorGate spyware scandal,” the statement said.

    The statement said these lawsuits are “seen as retaliatory attempts to silence critical reporting on matters of significant public interest” and described these legal actions as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), intended to intimidate journalists and suppress public interest reporting.

    Read the statement here.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Hong Kong must end Jimmy Lai’s show trial, CPJ urges ahead of hearing

    New York, November 18, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges the Hong Kong government to drop its trumped-up charges against media publisher Jimmy Lai, who is set to take the stand for the first time on Wednesday in his trial on national security charges, which could see the 77-year-old jailed for life if convicted.

    “This show trial must end before it is too late,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg on Monday. “The case of Jimmy Lai is not an outlier, it’s a symptom of Hong Kong’s democratic decline. Hong Kong’s treatment of Jimmy Lai — and more broadly of independent media and journalists — shows that this administration is no longer interested in even a semblance of democratic norms.”

    Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, has spent nearly four years in a maximum-security prison and solitary confinement since December 2020. He has faced multiple postponements to his trial, in which he has been charged with sedition and conspiring to collude with foreign forces.

    British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament in October that the case of Lai, who is a British citizen, was a “priority” and called for his release. Similarly, United Nations experts in January urged Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against the publisher and free him.

    The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that Lai is unlawfully and arbitrarily detained in Hong Kong, expressed alarm over his prolonged solitary confinement, and called for immediate remedy. Lai suffers from a long-standing health issue of diabetes.

    Lai won a press freedom award from CPJ and the organization continues to advocate for his freedom.

    Responding to CPJ’s request for comment, a Hong Kong government spokesperson referred to a November 17 statement in which it said that Lai was “receiving appropriate treatment and care in prison” and that Hong Kong authorities “strongly deplore any form of interference.”


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Trump’s Hush Money Conviction Is Dead On Arrival

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  • Peru judge orders IDL-Reporteros to turn over audio recordings in corruption case

    Bogotá, November 12, 2024—Peruvian judicial authorities must stop harassing journalist Gustavo Gorriti and the investigative news website he founded, IDL-Reporteros, and respect the right of reporters to maintain confidential sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

    In an October 25 resolution, Peru Supreme Court Judge Juan Carlos Checkley ordered the Attorney General’s office to compel IDL-Reporteros to turn over audio recordings that were part of its 2018 investigation into judicial corruption and to interrogate Gorriti, its editor-in-chief.

    “It is appalling that the Peruvian judicial system is being used to prosecute IDL-Reporteros and Gustavo Gorriti for their work investigating issues of public interest,” said Cristina Zahar, CPJ’s Latin America program coordinator, in São Paulo. “CPJ insists that freedom of expression and the right to maintain confidential sources be respected.”

    The resolution came in response to a request from César Hinostroza, a fugitive former Supreme Court judge who fled to Belgium. Hinostroza, whose recorded conversations with government officials formed part of IDL-Reporteros’ 2018 investigation, is under investigation for corruption and influence peddling.

    Gorriti told CPJ that the aim of Checkley’s order is to get IDL-Reporteros to reveal the names of its sources from the 2018 investigation. “No matter what happens, we are not going to reveal our confidential sources,” he said via messaging app.

    Adriana León, spokesperson for the Lima-based Institute for Press and Society, told CPJ that Peru’s constitution protects the rights of journalists to maintain the secrecy of confidential sources.

    There was no response to CPJ’s calls to the Attorney General’s office.

     A 1998 IPFA awardee, Gorriti is Peru’s most prominent investigative reporter. In 2009, he founded IDL-Reporteros, the journalism arm of the Legal Defense Institute, an independent organization dedicated to fighting corruption and improving justice in Peru.

    Partly as a result of IDL-Reporteros’ scoops, dozens of Peruvian public officials, lawyers, judges, and business people are under investigation for criminal acts. But there has also been a fierce backlash against IDL-Reporteros and Gorriti, who has been targeted by right-wing protesters and government officials.

    In July 2018, CPJ reported that police and prosecution officials went to IDL-Reporteros’ office to demand they hand over materials used in stories about government corruption, but left after they were unable to show a warrant.

    In March 2024, a public prosecutor in Lima launched a bribery investigation of Gorriti for allegedly promoting the work of two public prosecutors in exchange for scoops about political corruption investigations. Gorriti has called that investigation “absurd.”


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Togolese regulator suspends Tampa Express for 3 months for criticizing minister

    Dakar, November 7, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Togolese authorities to reverse their three-month suspension of Tampa Express after the bi-monthly newspaper criticized a government minister.

    “Togolese authorities must allow Tampa Express to resume publication without delay,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in Durban. “Media regulations should be used to encourage good practice, not to deploy disproportionate punishments or censorship.”

    The regulatory High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) said in its November 4 statement, reviewed by CPJ, that it had suspended the privately owned Tampa Express for the publication of false information “without evidence” and repeated violations of ethical conduct.

    The HAAC said that Tampa Express’ October 30 report criticized the political influence of Sandra Ablamba Ahoéfavi Johnson, who is Minister, Secretary General of the Presidency and Togo’s Governor at the World Bank. The article also alleged that she blocked the appointment of three people to the HAAC.

    Tampa Express publishing director Francisco Napo-Koura told CPJ that the regulator had taken issue with the headline, which described Johnson as the “rising star of the ‘whores’ of the republic.” Napo-Koura said the phrase was a reference to France’s Christine Deviers-Joncour, who had an affair with the country’s foreign minister and wrote a book called “Whore of the Republic.” Both women had significant influence over government policies, he said.

    The HAAC said it was the fourth time since 2022 that it had summoned Tampa Express publishing director Francisco Napo-Koura for violating the “professional rules of journalism.”

    In 2023, the regulator suspended Tampa Express for three months over a report about alleged corporate mismanagement, following a complaint from the firm’s former general manager.

    Napo-Koura told CPJ that he is awaiting a trial date in a defamation case related to the same report, after the trial was postponed on October 9.

    HAAC spokesman Patrick Adom referred CPJ to the regulator’s existing decision.

    CPJ’s request for comment to the Presidency via its website did not immediately receive a reply.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Gambian president withdraws defamation lawsuit against The Voice, editor 

    Durban, November 4, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Gambian President Adama Barrow’s decision to withdraw a civil defamation lawsuit against The Voice newspaper and its editor-in-chief and urges Attorney General Dawda A. Jallow to drop related false news charges against the editor and a colleague.

    “We are relieved that President Barrow responded to appeals from local media representatives, the National Human Rights Commission, and CPJ by retracting the lawsuit against The Voice and its editor Musa Sekour Sheriff,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program. “We trust that the false news charges will also be dropped by the time Sheriff and his colleague, Momodou Justice Darboe, next appear in criminal court.”

    Information Minister Ismaila Ceesay, Gambian Press Union President Muhammed S. Bah, and the Newspaper Publishers’ Association told CPJ by messaging app that representatives of the local groups and the Media Council were informed that the president would withdraw the lawsuit unconditionally when they met him at the State House in the capital of Banjul on Monday. According to Bah, Seine, and Sheriff, the false news charges are expected to be dropped before Sheriff and Darboe’s criminal trial resumes on December 10. 

    Sheriff and Darboe were arrested on September 26 in Banjul when they arrived for police questioning a day after receiving a letter from the president’s lawyer threatening a civil defamation lawsuit over an article alleging that Barrow was preparing an exit plan and had chosen a successor for the 2026 presidential election. The journalists were then charged with false publication and broadcasting.

    CPJ urged Barrow in a September 27 letter that the charges be dropped. On October 7, CPJ wrote to Gambia’s National Human Rights Commission chairperson, Emmanuel Joof, seeking mediation. Joof and Commissioner Iman Baba Leigh met Barrow on October 23 at the president’s holiday retreat to raise the issue, and also met Sheriff five days later, Jarboo and Sheriff told CPJ.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • NY Mayor Blames Indictment On Biden Criticism & Julian Assange Pleads Guilty To Journalism

    Eric Adams, the Democratic mayor of New York City, has now been indicted on multiple counts of bribery, fraud, and corruption. Plus, Julian Assange is a free man after spending 5 years in prison and 7 years at a consulate in England. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more.

    The post NY Mayor Blames Indictment On Biden Criticism & Julian Assange Pleads Guilty To Journalism appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

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  • Merrick Garland Boasts Over Pitiful Fine Against Money Laundering Bank

    Attorney General Merrick Garland recently held a press conference to boast about a massive fine that the DOJ had leveled against one of the largest banks in the country. The bank pleaded guilty to laundering money for drug cartels in a scheme that lasted for an entire decade. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was […]

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  • Creators Of Depo-Provera Birth Control Hid Deadly Side Effects For Decades

    A popular birth control that is used by over 70 million women each year has been linked to an increase risk of developing potentially-fatal brain tumors, but the company behind the product hasn’t been honest about the side effects of this medication. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Click here to find out more about Depo-Provera lawsuits. Transcript: […]

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  • FBI Targets Corrupt Texas Courts

    America’s Lawyer E121: The DOJ recently announced a $3 billion fine against the tenth largest bank in the country after they pleaded guilty to laundering money for drug cartels. But the fine is nothing compared to the money that they made off the scam. The FBI is conducting an investigation into one of the most […]

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  • Mine security guards attack media crew covering environmental degradation in Ghana

    Abuja, October 31, 2024–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ghanaian authorities to swiftly investigate and hold accountable the security guards who attacked four journalists and media workers working for the privately owned Multimedia Group conglomerate at a mining site in the country’s southern Ashanti region.

    On October 20, at least 10 armed security guards working for Edelmetallum Resources Limited, a mining company operating in Ghana, detained and beat journalist Erastus Asare Donkor, camera technician Edward Suantah, drone pilot Majid Alidu, and driver Arko Edward as they reported on alleged environmental degradation associated with one of the company’s mines, according to Donkor and Edward, who spoke with CPJ.

    “Authorities in Ghana must swiftly investigate and hold accountable the security guards of Edelmetallum Resources Limited responsible for attacking journalists and media workers Erastus Asare Donkor, Edward Suantah, Majid Alidu, and Arko Edward,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa Program, in Johannesburg. “Reporting on environmental degradation is a matter of public interest, and too often no one is held accountable when the press in Ghana is attacked.”

    The guards seized at least five phones, five drone batteries, a Lenovo tablet, a branded press jacket, and a headset, Donkor and Edward told CPJ. After forcing the crew to drive away with them, the guards deleted all information on at least two phones and made them delete their images. They also beat the media workers with their hands for at least 30 minutes. The guards later returned only the phones.

    After the attack, Donkor had difficulty using his right eye, Edward had a swollen face, and Suantah and Alidu had ringing in their ears, according to Donkor and Edward.

    The crew reported the attack to police and led them to the site, but the guards refused to go to the police station, Donkor said. Police later announced that three of the attackers had surrendered and were granted bail, he said.

    CPJ’s calls to police spokesperson Grace Ansah-Akrofi for comment on the investigation went unanswered.

    Edelmetallum’s managing director, Philip Edem Kutsienyo, said by phone that he did not want to speak with CPJ.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Criminal Investigation Unleashed In Texas Bankruptcy Court

    The FBI is conducting an investigation into one of the most popular corporate bankruptcy judges in America after he resigned in disgrace following a massive scandal that may have corrupted countless rulings. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more.

    The post Criminal Investigation Unleashed In Texas Bankruptcy Court appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • Guinean journalist Bakary Gamalo Bamba charged with violating judge’s privacy

    Dakar, October 30, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the release of journalist Bakary Gamalo Bamba, director of the bimonthly newspaper Le Baobab, who has been detained since October 20 on charges of invasion of privacy.

    “Guinean authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Bakary Gamalo Bamba, who has been jailed since October 20, when he recorded a judge as part of his work,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in Johannesburg. “The fact that Guinean law protects against journalists being jailed for their work, except for narrow circumstances, only enhances the injustice of Bamba’s arrest and detention.”

    On October 20, Francis Kova Zoumanigui, a judge and president of Guinea’s Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Crimes, slapped Bamba and doused him with wine after discovering that the journalist was recording their meeting at the judge’s home in Conakry, the Guinean capital, according to a statement by the Syndicate of Press Professionals in Guinea (SPPG). Bamba, 68, said during his trial that he recorded their discussion so that he could take notes about a case he was investigating, did not intend to name the judge in his report, and that a security agent for Zoumanigui had beaten him on the judge’s instruction.

    Zoumanigui told CPJ that Bamba didn’t present himself as a journalist and had not been mistreated. “I don’t wish him any jail time, but I had to clean up my image after the false accusations spread by the press,” he added.

    On Tuesday, a judge rejected Bamba lawyer’s request to release the journalist and set November 12 as the date for closing arguments.

    Bamba’s detention violates Guinea’s press freedom law, which states that journalists should not be jailed for offenses committed in the exercise of his profession, according to the SPPG. Under Article 132, a journalist living in Guinea may not be detained for their work, except for a few specific offenses, such as contempt for the head of state and dissemination of false news.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.