SOS for Journalist

The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Russian parliament to drop legislative amendments that would ban the distribution of foreign print media in the country without government permission. 

Mexican authorities must immediately undertake a swift, credible, and exhaustive investigation into the death of reporter Omar Iván Camacho Mascareño, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

When Venezuelan military officials detained American freelancer Cody Weddle on March 11, the experience was both frightening and bizarre. Weddle said that agents put a hood over his head and pressed him to reveal sources he had never spoken with.

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.