SOS for Journalist

The  Press Workers Union of Venezuela (SNTP) reported that journalist Danilo Alberto Gil was arrested on Saturday in Ciudad Ojeda, Zulia state, by agents of the National Police, when he was covering a demonstration amid ongoing blackouts and general crisis in the South American oil rich nation.

In the Philippines, award-winning journalist Maria Ressa has been freed on bail after authorities arrested her Friday for the second time in two months, reported Democracy Now on Friday. Ressa is the founder of the independent news site Rappler and a vocal critic of the Philippines’ authoritarian president, Rodrigo Duterte.

Authorities must immediately investigate an attack on Mexican journalist Hiram Moreno and guarantee his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday. Moreno, the editor of news website Evidencias, survived a shooting in Salina Cruz, a town in Oaxaca state, on March 20, according to news reports and an account that Moreno gave to reporters.

Venezuelan authorities should conduct an urgent and thorough investigation into the violent assault of reporter Tomasz Surdel.