Washington D.C., April 2, 2026—Iran is now in the grip of the longest internet blackout in its history, a near-total shutdown that has stretched more than 30 days and reduced connectivity to almost zero. Imposed amid war and unrest, the sweeping, government-imposed blackout has effectively sealed off the country, cutting journalists’ access to sources and…

Kampala, March 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Tuesday’s ruling by the Constitutional Court of Uganda to declare criminal defamation unconstitutional, the latest African court to abolish the crime in recent years. In a consolidated judgment, in response to three petitions filed by rights groups in 2022, the court also nullified the Computer Misuse…

Beirut, March 18, 2026 – In early March, as the Iran war spread across the Middle East and Israeli strikes rained down on Lebanon, many journalists covering the country’s growing displacement crisis found themselves living it. For freelance video journalist Hadil Iskandar, who has worked for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and pan-Arab outlet Daraj Media,…

Nashville Notícias reporter Estefany Rodríguez was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on March 4, 2026, despite being in the United States legally. She arrived in the U.S. in 2021 and sought asylum after facing death threats in relation to her reporting in her native Colombia. At the time of her detention, Rodríguez…

Journalists in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo face constant danger as warring parties seek to control information.  In January, February, and early March, government forces and rebel groups both detained journalists over their reporting, including several for simply conducting interviews, while the rebel forces that control parts of the country’s eastern provinces held military positions in…

Dakar, January 30, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Cameroonian authorities to immediately release journalist Brand Kamga, who was arrested on January 19 and charged with attempting to abduct the child of a woman he was investigating. Kamga, editor of the online channel Naja TV, phoned and met with the plaintiff, Annette Josiane Wandji…

New York, January 20, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on military authorities in Guinea-Bissau to rescind an order prohibiting unauthorized press conferences and public statements, as reporters warned of an increasingly repressive media environment following the junta’s November 26 seizure of power. “During times of political instability, freedom of expression and access to information…

Pakistan’s government has stepped up the use of in absentia convictions and arrest warrants against Pakistani journalists living overseas since late 2025, highlighting an escalating crackdown by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government on critical reporting and commentary that extends beyond domestic borders. In early January, four foreign-based Pakistani journalists and commentators were convicted on the…

When a tear gas cartridge fired by a policeman struck independent Argentinian photographer Pablo Grillo in the head while he was covering a pensioner protest in Buenos Aires on March 12, 2025, a line was crossed in the country’s deteriorating relationship between President Javier Milei’s administration and the press, according to Agustín Lecchi, the general secretary at…

Ugandan journalist Ssematimba Bwegiire lost consciousness immediately after a security officer electrocuted him with a stun gun and pepper-sprayed him in the mouth. But he did not report the incident, reflecting widespread disillusionment among the media about authorities’ commitment to press freedom in elections on January 15. Bwegiire, a reporter with privately owned Radio Simba,…