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Category: Legal

  • Press freedom in Paraguay threatened by proposed law to control nonprofits

    São Paulo, October 17, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Paraguayan President Santiago Peña to reject a law that would impose burdensome restrictions on nonprofit news outlets and threaten their independence.

    On October 9, Paraguay’s Congress approved the Establishing Control, Transparency, and Accountability of Non-Profit Organizations Act and passed it to Peña, who has two weeks to sign it into law or veto it.

    The legislation, reviewed by CPJ, would require all nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive public or private money to submit financial reports to the Ministry of Economy and Finance every six months. It would also require NGOs to list the people and legal entities that they work with. Organizations that fail to meet the requirements could be shut down.

    “Many independent media in Paraguay are nonprofits that rely on international funding and this law would force them to disclose information and data about people who work for them could seriously hamper their work,” said CPJ Latin America Program Coordinator Cristina Zahar. “It could deter news outlets from speaking out against the government or investigating public interest matters.”

    In July, three United Nations special rapporteurs warned that the bill “could unduly restrict the rights to privacy, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.”

    The Human Rights Coordinating Committee of Paraguay (Codehupy), an NGO network, sent a letter to Peña, reviewed by CPJ and signed by 66 organizations, asking him to veto the bill and work with civil society to draft a new one.

    The legislation comes as Congress is investigating allegations that NGOs have been involved in money laundering by funding political campaigns.

    Santiago Ortiz, secretary general of the Paraguayan Journalists Union, said Congress’ investigation, in which journalists personal data made public, was part of a broader push by the conservative government to harass journalists and civil society. “It was a deliberate attempt to discredit their work and that of civil society,” he told CPJ.

    CPJ requested comment from the President’s Office via messaging app but did not immediately receive a response.


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

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • CPJ welcomes sentencing of killer of Las Vegas journalist Jeff German

    Washington, D.C., October 16, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the 28-year sentence given to former politician Robert Telles on Wednesday for stabbing to death Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German.

    “The sentencing of Robert Telles marks a significant milestone in the quest for justice. Although the jailing of Telles cannot undo Jeff German’s murder, it can act as an important deterrent to would-be assailants of journalists,” said CPJ U.S., Canada, and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “German’s murder by a county politician is a stark reminder of the dangers that journalists – especially local reporters worldwide – face simply for doing their jobs and reporting on matters of public interest.”

    German, a veteran reporter who covered organized crime and local politics, was stabbed to death on September 2, 2022, outside his home in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, lost a re-election bid in June 2022 after German reported on alleged mismanagement in Telles’ office.


    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.

  • Warnings Increase Over Social Media’s Impact On Kids & SCOTUS Overturns Trump’s Bump Stock Ban

    The surgeon general is calling on Congress to approve warning labels for social media websites and apps, alerting parents and young users to the dangers these sites can pose. Also, the Supreme Court has overturned a signature accomplishment of the Trump administration by reversing the order that banned bump stocks on non-automatic weapons. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss […]

    The post Warnings Increase Over Social Media’s Impact On Kids & SCOTUS Overturns Trump’s Bump Stock Ban appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

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  • Tobacco Companies Unleash New Lab Created Nicotine

    Tobacco companies have been buying up vaping companies for many years, but they still can’t escape regulatory scrutiny with these products. So now they’ve come up with a new plan to avoid regulation and get millions of Americans addicted to their dangerous products. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription […]

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  • U.S. complaint filed against Salvadoran officer in 1982 killing of Dutch journalists

    São Paulo, October 10, 2024—CPJ welcomes the civil complaint filed in a U.S. court against Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena, one of several Salvadoran military officers alleged to be connected to the March 17, 1982 ambush and killing of Dutch TV journalists Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Joop Willemsen, and Hans ter Laag in Chalatenango, El Salvador, during their coverage of the Salvadoran Civil War. 

    “This lawsuit shows the determination of victims’ families to seek truth, memory, and justice and offers some hope for even the most egregious cases of impunity for the killing of journalists,” said Cristina Zahar, CPJ’s Latin America Program Coordinator. “The attacks many journalists face today reflect the impunity of the past, and accountability is essential to creating the conditions for democratic deliberation and the rule of law.” 

    The U.S.-based Center for Justice and Accountability filed the complaint on behalf of Gert Kuiper, Jan’s brother, in collaboration with human rights groups Fundación Comunicándonos and ASDEHU of El Salvador, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, where Reyes Mena lives.

    The four Dutch journalists were with leftist rebels when they were killed in 1982. A report issued by the United Nations Truth Commission in 1993 concluded that colonel Reyes Mena participated in planning the ambush of the journalists.

    After 42 years, three accused, including a former minister of defense and two military officers, will face trial in El Salvador, according to news reports.

    The court will now process the complaint and issue a summons, which will be delivered to Reyes Mena.


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

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • CPJ condemns convictions of 4 Temirov Live journalists in Kyrgyzstan

    New York, October 10, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Thursday’s sentencing of Temirov Live’s director Makhabat Tajibek kyzy and presenter Azamat Ishenbekov to six and five years in prison respectively on charges of calling for mass unrest. They plan to appeal.

    “By sentencing two anti-corruption journalists to lengthy prison terms on retaliatory charges, Kyrgyzstan has forfeited its reputation as a relative haven of press freedom in Central Asia and entered a dark new page in its history,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Kyrgyz authorities should not contest the appeals of Makhabat Tajibek kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov and lift all restrictions on other Temirov Live journalists. International partners must press the Kyrgyz government to reverse its growing attacks on the press.”

    The other verdicts in the Temirov Live trial were:

    • Aike Beishekeyeva and Aktilek Kaparov: sentenced to three years’ probation.
    • Sapar Akunbekov, Saipidin Sultanaliev, Tynystan Asypbekov, Maksat Tajibek uulu, Joodar Buzumov, Jumabek Turdaliev, and Akyl Orozbekov: not guilty.

    Kyrgyz police arrested the 11 current and former staff of Temirov Live, a local partner of the global Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), in January. By April, all but the four convicted on October 10 had been released into house arrest or under travel bans.

    The indictment, reviewed by CPJ, alleges that Temirov Live and its sister project Ait Ait Dese “indirectly” called for mass unrest by “discrediting” authorities in their videos.

    The journalists’ lawyers said the case was built on “untenable” testimony from state-appointed expert linguists and political scientists who analyzed the outlet’s videos.

    Temirov Live’s founder Bolot Temirov, who has been deported and banned from Kyrgyzstan, has said the charges may be in retaliation for the outlet’s investigations into alleged corruption, including by President Sadyr Japarov. Japarov said last month that the Temirov Live journalists were “paid to sit on social media and spread false information calling for mass unrest.” Since Japarov came to power in 2020, Kyrgyz authorities have launched an unprecedented crackdown on independent reporting

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

  • NJ Mayor’s Antisemitic Behavior Exposed In Lawsuit & Dems Call For More Kamala Media Exposure

    A school district in New Jersey has been hit with a lawsuit alleging a pattern of anti-semitic behavior and hiring practices at public schools. Plus, Democrats are begging Kamala Harris to get out there and do more interviews before she runs out of time. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party […]

    The post NJ Mayor’s Antisemitic Behavior Exposed In Lawsuit & Dems Call For More Kamala Media Exposure appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

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  • Kashmiri journalist Sajad Gul released on bail after more than two-year detention  

    New Delhi, October 8, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Kashmiri journalist Sajad Gul on bail—after more than two years of arbitrary detention on multiple charges — and calls on authorities in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir to immediately end all prosecution against him.

    “The release of Kashmiri journalist Sajad Gul on bail is long overdue,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi on Tuesday. “The collapse of press freedom in Kashmir in recent years is stark. With elections over, the newly elected local government must immediately free other Kashmiri journalists behind bars and allow the media to report freely without fear of reprisal.”

    Gul, a trainee reporter with the now-banned news website, The Kashmir Walla, was granted bail July 8 by a court in the northern Bandipora district of Kashmir, the details of which have not been made public, according to sources who told CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. The bail was related to one of the three cases Gul faces, over charges of rioting, attempted murder, and actions prejudicial to national integration. 

    Gul was first arrested January 5, 2022, from his home in Bandipora in connection with a video he posted on X, showing women protesting the killing of a local militant leader, according to news reports. The journalist was detained under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, which allows for a maximum two-year detention, before a Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashed his detention under the law in November 2023, stating that there was no concrete evidence or specific allegations proving his actions were prejudicial to the security of the state. 

    Prior to his July release, Gul was granted bail in two other cases in connection with the video, in which he faced chargesof criminal conspiracy, assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging their duty, and endangering life or personal safety, according to those sources. 

    Jammu and Kashmir voters went to the polls last month for the first time since India unilaterally revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status in 2019, which prompted a rapid decline in press freedom. An opposition alliance is set to form government after votes were counted on October 8.

    Two more Kashmiri journalists—Irfan Mehraj and Majid Hyderi—remain behind bars.

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

  • Democratic Mayor Blames Indictment On Biden’s Immigration Policy

    Eric Adams, the Democratic mayor of New York City, has now been indicted on multiple counts of bribery, fraud, and corruption. The state of New York has been reeling from one scandal to another in recent months. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any […]

    The post Democratic Mayor Blames Indictment On Biden’s Immigration Policy appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

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  • Senator’s Push For Supreme Court Overhaul Is Dead On Arrival

    Senator Ron Wyden has introduced legislation that would completely overhaul the Supreme Court and make it easier for presidents of either Party to get appointees on the court and create a more fair balance. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

    The post Senator’s Push For Supreme Court Overhaul Is Dead On Arrival appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

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  • Cory Booker Blocks Revenge Porn Bill To Spite Ted Cruz

    Democratic Senator Cory Booker blocked a piece of bipartisan legislation that was sponsored by Republican senator Ted Cruz, just so Cruz couldn’t get a much-needed victory ahead of November’s election. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

    The post Cory Booker Blocks Revenge Porn Bill To Spite Ted Cruz appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

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  • CPJ condemns Peruvian journalist communications secrecy lifting

    São Paulo, 4 October, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office to immediately close the illicit enrichment case against investigative journalist Paola Ugáz and reverse its order to her phone company to disclose her phone records and geolocation data from 2013 to 2020.

    On September 26, Ugáz appealed to the court to drop its August 2023 order over her communications records, which was made in relation to a money laundering suit brought against her in 2021 and ended in 2023 by the Prosecutor’s Office.

    “CPJ is really concerned by the years of judicial harassment that Paola Ugáz has endured since she and Pedro Salinas started investigating a religious organization in Peru in 2010,” said CPJ Latin America Program Coordinator Cristina Zahar. “Revoking the confidentiality of her communications is illegal under Peru’s constitution, as it could expose her journalistic sources and personal details, but it could also lead to reprisals against her.”

    Ugáz has been the target of multiple criminal lawsuits since she and Pedro Salinas co-authored the 2015 book “Half Monks, Half Soldiers,” which alleged a pattern of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse within the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Peruvian Catholic lay organization.

    Carlos Rivera, Ugáz’s attorney, told CPJ in a phone interview that the same facts used in the 2021 case of money laundering were used in the 2023 illicit enrichment suit. “Since the Prosecutor’s Office’s eight-month investigation deadline was past due, in January 2024 we appealed to a local court to try to end it,” said Rivera, adding that the judge accepted it and ordered the prosecution to close the investigation.

    But, according to Rivera, the prosecution appealed and additionally asked to lift Ugáz’s communications secrecy based on a resolution from August 2023. “This really shocked us because we weren’t aware of it,” said Rivera who on September 26, 2024, appealed to revert the resolution of lifting his client’s communications secrecy.

    “It is a tragedy to be the first Peruvian journalist to have their communications lifted with legal tricks, a treatment reserved for criminals,” said Ugáz.

    The Prosecutor’s Office answered CPJ’s email requesting for comment saying that the case is confidential.


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

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • New York Mayor Blames Biden For His Scandals

    America’s Lawyer E117: New York City mayor Eric Adams has been criminally indicted for a bribery and corruption scheme that spans more than half a decade – we’ll bring you all the details. Journalist Ken Klippenstein has been permanently suspended from Twitter for publishing documents that were received via a hack of the Trump campaign. […]

    The post New York Mayor Blames Biden For His Scandals appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

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  • CPJ urges Russia to drop charges against journalists accused of ‘illegal’ border crossing

    Berlin, October 3, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to stop harassing international reporters after the Federal Security Service (FSB) filed criminal charges against three journalists on September 27 for allegedly crossing the Russian border illegally from Ukraine.

    The criminal cases have been initiated against Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Europe correspondent Kathryn Diss and ABC camera operator Fletcher Yeung, both U.S. citizens, as well as Romanian freelance journalist Mircea Barbu, who was on assignment for news website HotNews. Russian authorities allege that the journalists crossed into Sudzha, a western Russian town in the Kursk region where Ukrainian authorities launched an incursion, on August 6, without Russian permission.

    “These criminal charges against foreign journalists are a blatant attempt to intimidate the press and restrict the flow of information about the Russia-Ukraine war,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in Warsaw. “We urge Russian authorities to immediately drop all charges against Kathryn Diss, Fletcher Yeung, and Mircea Barbu, and to stop treating journalism as a crime.”

    In a statement, ABC said its reporters had not done anything illegal, since they were reporting “from occupied territory in a war zone in full compliance with international law. Their reporting was done in the interests of keeping the public fully informed on a story of international importance.”

    Barbu also condemned the charges on social media, saying journalists are protected under international law and that Russia’s actions are a threat to the freedom of expression of any journalists who risk reporting the truth during armed conflicts.

    Since August 17, Russian authorities have opened similar charges against a total of 12 foreign journalists reporting from the Kursk region.  

    The journalists, who face up to five years in prison upon extradition to Russia or being detained within the country, include: Deutsche Welle correspondent Nick Connolly; Ukrainian national TV channel “1+1” correspondent Natalia Nahorna; CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh; independent Ukrainian broadcaster Hromadske reporters Olesya Borovyk and Diana Butsko; and Italian public broadcaster RAI journalists Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini.

    Russian authorities have since added all seven to their wanted list.

    On August 19, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Russian law enforcement authorities were studying “the facts related to the actions” of unnamed Washington Post journalists in Sudzha.

    CPJ emailed the FSB for comment but did not 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.

  • Nigeria police charge 4 journalists with cybercrimes for corruption reporting

    Abuja, October 3, 2024—Despite recent reforms to Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act, journalists continue to be targeted for publishing news in the public interest, with four reporters being charged under the law last month.

    Cybercrime laws and other regulations governing online content have been widely used to jail journalists around the world. In Nigeria, at least 29 journalists have faced prosecution under the cybercrimes law since it was enacted in 2015.

    CPJ had warned that February’s amendments to the law, which followed years of advocacy by human rights groups and CPJ, still left journalists at risk of prosecution due to an overly broad definition of what is a criminal offense. Since the law was reformed, it has been used to summon, intimidate, and detain journalists for their work.

    On September 20, police in western Lagos State separately arrested Olurotimi Olawale, editor of the privately owned National Monitor newspaper, and Precious Eze Chukwunonso, publisher of the privately owned News Platform website, Nigerian Guild of Investigative Journalists’president, Abdulrahman Aliagan, told CPJ.

    On September 25, police arrested Rowland Olonishuwa, a reporter with the privately owned Herald newspaper, in western Kwara state and Seun Odunlami, publisher of privately owned Newsjaunts website, in nearby Ogun state, Aliagan and Kwara-based journalist Dare Akogun told CPJ.

    “Nigerian authorities should immediately release journalists, Olurotimi Olawale, Precious Eze Chukwunonso, Rowland Olonishuwa, and Seun Odunlami, and swiftly drop the cybercrime charges against them,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa Program, from New York. “Since Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act became law, it has been used to arrest and prosecute journalists, and these arrests emphasize that the recent reforms to the law have not reversed that trend.”

    On September 27, the four journalists were charged in a Lagos federal court with violating sections 24(1)(b) and 27 of the Cybercrimes Act for reporting that implicated Segun Agbaje, chief executive officer of Guaranty Trust Bank, in alleged fraud worth 1 trillion naira (US$600 million) according to Aliagan, Akogun, and a copy of the charge sheet reviewed by CPJ.

    Section 24 of Cybercrimes Act relates to pornographic or knowingly false messages “for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order, posing a threat to life, or causing such messages to be sent,” according to a copy of the law’s amendments signed by President Bola Tinubu in February. Violation of this section is punishable with up to three years in prison and a fine of 7 million naira (US$4,200).

    Section 27 relates to attempts to violate the law and conspiracy, as well as aiding and abetting. Conniving to commit “fraud using computer system(s) or network” carries a variable punishment based on the violation and/or up to seven years in prison and a requirement to refund or forfeit stolen funds, according to the same copy of the amendments.

    The journalists pleaded not guilty and were remanded at a Lagos correctional center, pending a bail hearing on October 4, Aliagan and Akogun told CPJ.

    Although the police compelled the journalists to take down their articles, Nigeria’s federal House of Representatives subsequently announced an investigation into the bank over fraud allegations.

    GTBank’s chief communications officer Oyinade Adegite confirmed to CPJ by phone that the bank had sought to have the journalists charged with cybercrime over their reporting, which she said was “defamatory.”

    CPJ’s call and text messages to request comment from Lagos State police spokesperson Hauwa Idris-Adamu on September 27 went unanswered.

    Editor’s note: This text has been updated in the ninth paragraph to add detail to the penalty for violating Section 27.


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

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Colleges Cash In On Pharma Price Gouging & Political Violence Is Getting Worse In America

    Major colleges and universities receive huge federal grants to help develop prescription drugs that these colleges also get a cut of the drugs’ profits. Also, for the second time in three months, Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt, but this time the Secret Service was able to subdue the gunman before he […]

    The post Colleges Cash In On Pharma Price Gouging & Political Violence Is Getting Worse In America appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

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  • Journalists ordered to reveal sources in harassment suit against eBay

    The journalists behind an online e-commerce news site were ordered by a federal court on Sept. 25, 2024, to turn over the identities of sources who stopped working with them as a result of a 2019 campaign of harassment and intimidation at the hands of then-eBay employees. An attorney representing the journalists argues there’s nothing to turn over.

    David and Ina Steiner, a married couple who run the Massachusetts-based news site EcommerceBytes, were targeted by seven employees after publishing an article in August 2019 about litigation involving the online retailer. The seven were later convicted and eBay was fined $3 million.

    In July 2021, the Steiners filed a federal lawsuit in Boston against eBay, the former executives and the seven co-conspirators, alleging they suffered emotional, psychological and financial harm as a result of the harassment campaign.

    As part of discovery in that lawsuit, eBay filed a motion in September 2024 asking that the court compel the Steiners to disclose the identities of “would-be sources” who were fearful of working with the journalists following the harassment.

    The Steiners had previously released redacted copies of communications wherein sources asked that their names not be published or advertisers withdrew their business, citing a fear of retaliation from eBay or cyberbullying.

    In a filing in opposition to eBay’s motion, an attorney representing the Steiners wrote that the request was moot, as there are no potential sources that they could identify. Attorney Todd Garber added that the motion should still be denied, however, as granting it could have a chilling effect on potential confidential sources.

    “Sources came forward on the premise of anonymity for fear of retaliation, a very real fear given the facts of this case,” Garber wrote. “eBay’s motion threatens the free flow of information because if granted it would send fear down any confidential sources’ spine that the disclosure of their identities is very much at risk and promises of confidentiality cannot be upheld.”

    During a hearing on Sept. 25, Law360 reported, Garber reiterated that there are no further documents or information to produce in response to the request. Magistrate Judge Paul Levenson expressed frustration during the hearing and largely sidestepped arguments over reporter’s privilege.

    “It sounds like what you’re saying essentially is ‘we can’t identify any particular person who says they will no longer work with us, but that it stands to reason that such people would exist, and we just don’t know who they are,’” Levenson said.

    The judge also asked why that wouldn’t be a correct and full answer to eBay’s request. Garber said it would be and that he would state as much in his response, which Levenson ordered him to provide by the end of the week, Law360 reported.

    By granting the motion to compel, however, the judge placed an obligation on the Steiners to provide the identities of such “would-be sources” if they learn of them at any point before the case is resolved.


    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.

  • CPJ, partners condemn Georgian bill banning LGBTQ+ content

    The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 22 other organizations advocating for press freedom on Monday in condemning Georgia’s Family Values Bill that would ban broadcasters from reporting on LGBTQ+ issues.

    The bill would fine broadcasters who air content that promotes LGBTQ+ gender identification and relationships. Georgian press freedom advocates say state authorities often use legislation to fine opposition-leaning broadcasters.

    Parliament passed the bill on September 17 and it must now be signed by President Salome Zourabichvili who has indicated that she will block it. But the ruling Georgian Dream party has enough support in parliament to override her.

    The groups called on Georgian Dream to halt its legal attacks on press freedom and freedom of expression. In June, authorities enacted a Russian-style law requiring media outlets and nongovernmental organizations that receive funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents.”

    Read the full 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.

  • Kyrgyzstan prosecutors seek 6-year prison terms for 11 investigative journalists

    New York, September 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kyrgyz authorities to drop the prosecution against 11 current and former staff of anti-corruption investigative outlet Temirov Live and release those in detention, after prosecutors on Thursday requested 6-year prison sentences for the journalists on charges of calling for mass unrest.

    “The conviction of even a single one of the 11 Temirov Live investigative journalists on such clearly contrived and retaliatory charges would deal a further severe blow to Kyrgyzstan’s international reputation,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Kyrgyz prosecutors should drop charges against 11 current and former members of Temirov Live, release those remaining in detention, and lift the travel bans against others. The government must stop its relentless campaign against the outlet and its founder, Bolot Temirov.”

    Kyrgyz police arrested the current and former Temirov Live staff during raids on the journalists’ homes and the outlet’s office on January 16. Four of the 11 journalists — Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, Aktilek Kaparov, Aike Beishekeyeva, and Azamat Ishenbekov — remain in detention. Jumabek Turdaliev has been released on a travel ban, while the other six — Sapar Akunbekov, Akyl Orozbekov, Tynystan Asypbekov, Saipidin Sultanaliev, Joodar Buzumov, and Maksat Tajibek uulu — were released under house arrest pending trial.

    A verdict in the case is expected October 3. Case materials reviewed by CPJ allege that videos by Temirov Live, a partner of global investigative network Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and sister outlet Ait Ait Dese “discredit” the government and contain “indirect” and “subtextual” calls for mass unrest. Akmat Alagushev, lawyer for two of the journalists, told CPJ that the charges are “absurd,” saying that prosecutors’ resorting to the term “indirect calls,” which lacks basis in Kyrgyz legislation, shows that investigators were unable to find any actual calls for mass unrest in the outlets’ publications.

    Authorities deported Temirov in November 2022 and banned him from entering the country for five years in connection with his reporting.

    Since 2022, Kyrgyz authorities have launched an unprecedented crackdown on independent reporting in a country previously seen as a regional haven for the free press. A Russian-style “foreign agents” law approved in April could be used to target media outlets and press freedom groups.


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

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Iranian Kurdish journalist Fardin Mostafaei detained in undisclosed location

    Washington D.C., September 24, 2024—Islamic Republic of Iran authorities must free Iranian Kurdish journalist Fardin Mostafaei, who was arrested on September 18 in a cafe in the northwestern Kurdistan province and detained in an undisclosed location on unspecified charges, according to news reports.  

    “Iranian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Fardin Mostafaei and cease the practice of arbitrarily jailing members of the press for reporting on vital daily matters such as economic difficulties,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ’s interim Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “Journalists must be able to work without fear of officials’ retaliation.”

    The 39-year-old investigative reporter also manages the Telegram channel known as “Saqqez Rudaw,” which covers the local news of his hometown, Saqqez, and neighboring Kurdish areas.

    In November 2023, Mostafaei was summoned and indicted by Saqqez’s Cyber and Internet police (FATA) on charges of “spreading propaganda” and “disturbing public opinion” for his coverage of the economic issues in the city in his Telegram channel. The office of the Saqqez Governor filed a lawsuit against the journalist, according to reports.

    CPJ’s email to Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York requesting comment on Mostafaei’s detention did not receive a reply.


    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.

  • J&J Continues To Dodge Talc Liability & Psychics And Bookies Cash In On 2024 Predictions

    Johnson & Johnson has been hit with a new lawsuit accusing them of fraudulently using bankruptcy to avoid paying the victims who got cancer from their deadly products. Plus, a college professor named Allan Lichtman has been called the Nostradamus of American politics for accurately predicting nearly every presidential race for 20 years. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. […]

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  • Belarus detains journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich ahead of trial

    New York, September 23, 2024—Belarusian authorities should disclose their reason for detaining journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich ahead of his September 26 trial on charges of violating public order in the southwestern city of Pinsk, and ensure that no journalists are jailed because of their work, said the Committee to Protect Journalist on Monday. 

    “Journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich’s detention, despite a spate of recent pardons by President Aleksandr Lukashenko, underscores Belarus’ fractured prison system as Europe’s worst jailer of journalists,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Belarusian authorities should make the reason for Nikalayevich’s charges known or release him immediately.”

    Nikalayevich, a former video reporter with independent news website Media Polesye, was arrested and served a 10-day prison sentence in November 2020 on charges of “participating in an unsanctioned event” following his coverage of protests in Pinsk calling for President Lukashenko to resign.

    Nikalayevich left Belarus and journalism after serving his sentence, his former outlet reported, adding that he returned to the country in early 2024. 

    The new charges against Nikalayevich are “most likely” related to his coverage of the 2020 protests, a representative of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, an advocacy and trade group operating from exile, told CPJ under condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. There is no information on when the journalist was detained.

    If convicted, Nikalayevich faces up to four years in jail, according to the Belarusian Criminal Code.

    CPJ is also investigating the September 19 detention of photographer Aivar Udrys in the western city of Hlybokaye. The outcome of his Thursday hearing is unknown. CPJ emailed the Belarusian Investigative Committee, the country’s law enforcement agency, for comment on the two detentions but did not receive any response.

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


    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.

  • Turkey investigates Kurdish journalist for ‘spreading disinformation’ over crime reporting

    Istanbul, September 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urged the Turkish authorities on Monday to drop the disinformation investigation into Rabia Önver, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish news website JİNNEWS, and stop using house raids to harass journalists.

    “The police raid of JİNNEWS reporter Rabia Önver’s house was completely unjustified for an alleged disinformation investigation and is yet another example of the tactics frequently used in Turkey to intimidate journalists,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Turkish authorities should drop the investigation into Önver’s work, stop harassing journalists with house raids, and allow the media to report without worrying about retaliation.”

    On September 20, police in the southeastern city of Hakkari raided Önver’s house.

    The police had a prosecutor’s order to take the journalist into custody, but the warrant was discontinued after they did not find her at home, Önver’s lawyer Azad Özer told CPJ on Monday. The lawyer also confirmed that Önver was being investigated for “publicly spreading disinformation” due to her reporting on alleged corruption by some authorities involved in a possible narcotics trafficking and prostitution crime ring.  

    CPJ emailed the Hakkari chief prosecutor’s office for comment but received no immediate reply.


    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.

  • The DOJ Is Clueless Over Iranian Hackers

    The Department of Justice has announced that they are preparing to file criminal charges for the hacking of Donald Trump’s campaign that was done by the country of Iran. The only problem is that the DOJ doesn’t know who they are even going to indict. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a […]

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  • Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera’s West Bank office, issue 45 day ban on its journalism

    Beirut, September 22, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Israeli authorities to stop harassing and obstructing Al Jazeera after armed Israeli forces raided the Qatari broadcaster’s office in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah during a live broadcast early Sunday morning, ordered its closure for 45 days, and forced its staff to leave.

    “CPJ is deeply alarmed by Israel’s closure of Al Jazeera’s office in the occupied West Bank, just months after it shuttered Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel after deeming it a threat to national security,” said CPJ’s program director, Carlos Martínez de la Serna, in New York. “Israel’s efforts to censor Al Jazeera severely undermine the public’s right to information on a war that has upended so many lives in the region. Al Jazeera’s journalists must be allowed to report at this critical time, and always.”

    Al Jazeera aired footage of the raid, during which soldiers confiscated documents and equipment from the office. Soldiers seized the microphone from Al Jazeera’s West Bank bureau chief Walid al-Omari while he was live on air with correspondent Givara Budeiri outside the building. Al Jazeera said the forces also removed a poster of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian American correspondent murdered by Israeli forces in 2022, from the building.  

    The September 22 military order accused the broadcast’s West Bank operations of “incitement to and support of terrorism.” Israeli communications minister Shlomo Karhi confirmed the raid in a statement to Reuters, calling Al Jazeera a “mouthpiece” for Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. “We will continue to fight the enemy channels and ensure the safety of our heroic fighters,” he said.

    CPJ’s headquarters in New York emailed the Israel Defense Forces’ North America desk for comment on the raid and closure but received no immediate response.

    “This is part of a larger campaign against the Palestinian outlets and media in general aimed at erasing the truth,” al-Omari said in an interview with Al Araby Al Jadeed. “We’ve been under increasing incitement since the beginning of the war.”  

    In May, the Israeli cabinet voted to ban Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel after the country’s parliament passed a law authorizing the shutdown of foreign channels’ broadcasts if the content was deemed to be a threat to the country’s security during the ongoing war. Until Sunday the broadcaster had continued to operate from Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the West Bank under Israeli military occupation; it still operates in Gaza, where the Israeli military has killed numerous Al Jazeera staff and freelancers since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.


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

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  • Russia fines 11 journalists, restricts 2 outlets with anti-state laws

    Berlin, September 20, 2024—Russian authorities have deployed laws penalizing “foreign agents,” “undesirable” organizations, and those who “discredit” the army to issue fines against 11 journalists, at least five of whom live in exile, and to retaliate against two media outlets in the last two months.

    The latest figures show that Russia’s crackdown has continued apace since CPJ’s previous report in late July, which found that 13 exiled journalists had been targeted in the previous month.

    Russian authorities have clamped down on independent reporting since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 while journalists who have fled into exile have been hit with fines, arrest warrants, and jail terms in absentia.

    Harassed as ‘foreign agents’

    Russian authorities have designated hundreds of media outlets and journalists as “foreign agents,” requiring them to regularly submit detailed reports of their activities and expenses to authorities and to list their status on published content.

    • On August 14, “foreign agent” Idris Yusupov of the independent outlet Novoye Delo was fined 30,000 rubles (US$330) for holding a solitary silent picket in Russia’s southwestern Republic of Dagestan calling for the release of jailed journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiev and expressing support for Palestinians. “Foreign agents” are not allowed to organize public events.
    • On September 13, one of Russia’s last remaining independent print newspapers Sobesednik was designated a “foreign agent.” The outlet suspended publication while it challenges the decision in court.
    Journalists work in the office of Meduza in Riga, Latvia, in 2015.
    Journalists in the office of exiled media outlet Meduza in Latvia in 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Ints Kalnins)

    Criminalized as ‘undesirable’

    More than a dozen media outlets have been labeled “undesirable,” which means they are banned from operating in Russia. Anyone who participates in them faces fines or up to six years in prison. It is also a crime to distribute the outlets’ content.

    The popular news site Meduza, whose CEO Galina Timchenko won CPJ’s 2022 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award, has been a key target. The Latvia-based outlet is both a “foreign agent”  and an “undesirable” organization. Meduza’s website was blocked in Russia following its condemnation of the Ukraine war.

    • On July 26, Aida Ivanova, editor-in-chief of the Siberian online outlet SakhaDay, was fined 10,000 rubles (US$109) for posting a Telegram link to Meduza.
    • On July 30, Andrey Soldatov, exiled editor-in-chief of Agentura.ru, which documents the activities of Russian intelligence agencies, was fined 5,000 rubles (US$55) for his reporting and podcast for Meduza.
    • On July 30, Meduza’s exiled journalist Svetlana Reiter was fined 5,000 rubles (US$55) for her reporting, including an interview with the late opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s lawyer.
    • On August 23, Tuyara Innokentyeva was fined 15,000 rubles (US$164) for publishing three links to Meduza in 2020 as the administrator of a now-defunct Telegram channel of the independent newspaper Aartyk.ru based in northeastern Sakha Republic.
    • On September 13, the prosecutor general’s office designated the Poland-based TV channel Belsat as “undesirable,” saying that it had created a negative image of Russia and criticized its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

    ‘Discrediting’ the Russian army

    • Following a police raid on their homes and office in May, the independent newspaper Qirim’s founder Seyran Ibrahimov and editor-in-chief Bekir Mamutov were fined a total of 790,000 rubles (US$8,680) for four offences between June 7 and August 27 for “discrediting” the Russian army and “abusing” media freedom.

    Qirim covers issues affecting the Crimean Tatar ethnic minority in the Ukrainian peninsula seized by Moscow in 2014. The offending articles included a United Nations report on the humanitarian situation in Crimea and an opinion piece on the mobilization of Crimean Tatars into the Russian army in 2022.

    “Fines must be paid within two months of a court decision or they will double,” Ibrahimov told CPJ, adding that the amounts were “unaffordable” for the journalists and that non-payment could result in asset seizure. 

    • On August 16, Pavel Dmitriev, an exiled journalist with Pskovskaya Guberniya newspaper, was fined 30,000 rubles (US$330) for “discrediting” the Russian army in a YouTube video where he criticized President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine. The exiled outlet has faced multiple criminal charges and raids.


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

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  • Journalists supportive of ousted Bangladesh leader targeted with arrest, criminal cases

    New York, September 19, 2024—At least four Bangladeshi journalists who produced coverage seen as supportive of recently ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party remain detained following the establishment of an interim government in August.

    “CPJ is alarmed by the apparently baseless criminal cases lodged against Bangladeshi journalists in retaliation for their work, which is seen as supportive of the recently ousted government,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “Bangladesh’s interim government should ensure that authorities respect the procedural rights of those accused, as well as their right to a fair trial, while safeguarding the ability of all journalists to report without fear of reprisal.”

    Hasina fled to India on August 5 following mass protests that ended her 15-year rule. Dozens of Bangladeshi journalists whose reporting was considered favorable of Hasina’s government have since been targeted in criminal investigations.

    On August 31, a court in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka jailed Farzana Rupa, former principal correspondent at the privately owned, pro-Awami League broadcaster Ekattor TV, and Shakil Ahmed, Rupa’s husband and former head of news at the broadcaster, on judicial remand following nine days in police custody, according to a person familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal.

    Police detained Rupa and Ahmed — who were dismissed from their positions at Ekattor TV on August 8 — at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on August 21. Officers also confiscated the couple’s mobile phones and passports, according to the anonymous source, adding that the journalists were both being held in relation to two cases of instigating murder during the mass protests.

    Rupa began receiving an influx of threats in July after questioning Hasina about the protests that ultimately led to her ousting, the anonymous source said.

    On September 16, police detained two other Ekattor TV journalists — Mozammel Babu, managing director and editor-in-chief, and Mahbubur Rahman, a senior reporter — along with Shyamal Dutta, editor of the privately owned newspaper Bhorer Kagoj, and their driver, after the group allegedly attempted to illegally enter India from Bangladesh’s northern Mymensingh district.

    The following day, a Dhaka court ordered that Babu and Dutta be held in a seven-day police remand in two separate murder cases, while Rahman and the driver were released, according to the anonymous source.

    Rupa, Ahmed, Babu, and Dutta were also among the more than two dozen journalists named in an August complaint filed at Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, a domestic war crimes tribunal, on allegations of involvement in crimes against humanity and genocide during the mass protests.

    Twenty-eight other journalists also are facing investigations in connection with the mass protests. On September 4, a court in the southeastern city of Chittagong ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation to probe a criminal complaint filed by a teacher against the journalists and 81 other people.  

    The complaint, reviewed by CPJ, cites several sections of the penal code, including promoting enmity between classes, causing grievous hurt, and kidnapping, as well as sections of the Explosive Substances Act of 1908, which can carry a sentence of the death penalty or life imprisonment. It also accuses several privately owned news outlets — including Ekattor TV, Somoy TV, and the Dhaka Tribune newspaper — of failing to publish or broadcast appropriate coverage of the protests.

    Enamul Haque Sagor, a Bangladesh police spokesperson, did not respond to CPJ’s calls and WhatsApp messages requesting comment on the latest arrests and investigations.


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

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  • Belarusian journalist Andrei Tolchyn released following presidential pardon

    New York, September 18, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the September 17 release of Belarusian journalist Andrei Tolchyn, who received a presidential pardon after serving almost a year of a two-and-a-half year prison sentence.

    “While we welcome the release of journalist Andrei Tolchyn, he should not have spent a single day in prison,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Despite the recent releases of political prisoners, Belarus remains Europe’s worst jailer of journalists and one of the most hostile places in the world for independent journalism. The authorities must free all members of the press jailed in retaliation for their work.”  

    Tolchyn was among 37 political prisoners pardoned by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on September 16 who were convicted on “extremism” charges, the president’s office said in a statement. The list included prisoners with disabilities and chronic conditions.

    “Already in the pretrial detention center [Tolchyn] had health problems: serious leg pain and high blood pressure,” a representative of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, an exiled advocacy and trade group, told CPJ under condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

    Tolchyn, a freelance camera operator, was detained in September 2023 and sentenced in March 2024 on charges of “facilitating extremist activity” and defaming the president. 

    Authorities have detained Tolchyn multiple times and fined him in connection with his work and coverage of the 2020 protests demanding Lukashenko’s resignation. Tolchyn left journalism in 2020.

    This is the third pardon signed by Lukashenko in the last months; the first one, on August 16, included journalists Dzmitry Luksha and Ksenia Lutskina.

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


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

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Corporate Donors Hide Behind Church Lawsuit To Gain Tax Exempt Status

    A new lawsuit brought by right wing religious organizations could soon make political donations a tax-deductible item, which would lead to even more corporate money flowing into our election process. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: A new lawsuit brought […]

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  • Belarus’ dangerous push for Serbia to extradite journalist Andrey Gnyot

    New York, September 17, 2024—Belarusian filmmaker Andrey Gnyot is stuck in a legal limbo after a Serbian appeals court announced on September 11 that it had sent his extradition case to the Belgrade Higher Court for a third review.

    Gnyot, who is currently under house arrest, has been held by Serbian authorities since October 2023 and could face seven years in jail if extradited to Belarus and convicted on tax evasion charges.

    Gnyot told CPJ on September 12 that the “most dangerous thing” about waiting for the hearing, which he said was probably one month away, was it would give President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s authoritarian government more time to “make up any number of new fake criminal cases against me” to persuade Serbia to grant its extradition request.

    “If Serbia extradites Andrey Gnyot to Belarus, it could set a dangerous precedent for Belarusian authorities’ transnational repression of journalists and profoundly undermine Serbia’s aspirations to join the European Union,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “If Serbia is serious about being an EU candidate country, it must respect the bloc’s values of democracy and human rights. Serbian authorities must end these baseless judicial proceedings and free Gnyot immediately.”    

    Serbia applied for EU membership in 2009, but European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said in May that the country still needed to proceed with democratic reforms.

    Harassment beyond Belarusian borders

    Belarusian authorities cracked down on independent media following 2020 protests against Lukashenko’s disputed reelection. As hundreds of journalists have fled into exile, the government has stepped up its efforts to reach beyond its borders to harass them. This includes stripping citizenship from exiles convicted on anti-state charges, banning citizens from renewing their passports abroad, initiating criminal proceedings against several exiled journalists, and searching the Belarusian homes of others who have left the country. CPJ is working to determine whether the prosecutions are connected to the journalists’ work.

    In 2021, Belarusian authorities arrested journalist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend after diverting a commercial Ryanair flight to the capital Minsk. In 2023, Pratasevich was given an eight-year sentence on charges that included organizing protests and insulting the president, while exiled former colleagues from his Telegram channel NEXTA, Stsypan Putsila and Yan Rudzik, were given sentences in absentia of 20 and 19 years respectively. Pratasevich was later pardoned.

    During the 2020 protests, Gnyot worked with independent news outlets, including Radio Svaboda, the Belarusian service of U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and co-founded SOS BY, an independent sports association that influenced the cancellation of the 2021 Hockey World Cup in Belarus. Belarusian authorities later designated both organizations as “extremist.”

    ‘I’m not giving up’

    Serbian authorities arrested Gnyot upon his arrival in the country on October 30, 2023, based on an Interpol arrest warrant issued by the Belarusian Interpol bureau. After seven months in prison, he was transferred to house arrest in June. He denies the charges.

    “No one knows for how long I am stuck in this ‘terminal’ between the East and the West and for how much [longer] I will have enough moral, material, and physical resources. I’m not giving up. But, of course, I’m angry,” Gnyot told CPJ. “I am left in detention, without a job, without means of livelihood, with one hour out of the house, without medical care.”

    Belarus is among the world’s worst jailers of journalists, often using “extremism” laws to incarcerate journalists in retaliation for covering the 2020 protests. At least 28 journalists were behind bars when CPJ conducted its most recent annual prison census on December 1, 2023. (Gnyot was not listed as being held in Serbia at the time due to a lack of information about the connection between Gnyot’s detention and his journalism.)

    A 2023 U.S. State Department report found that prisoners in Belarus jails face harsh conditions, including food and heating shortages, gross overcrowding, and lack of access to basic or emergency medical care.


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

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