Press Freedom
CPJ Updates
- Egyptian security forces arrest son of al-Mashhad editor Magdi Shandi
- Spanish reporter Ferran Barber detained for weeks without charge, deported from Iraqi Kurdistan
- Nicaraguan customs authorities target 2 newspapers with ink, paper seizures
- Journalist detained in Iraqi Kurdistan without charge since August 21
- CPJ Insider: September 2019 edition
- Infographic: 10 Most Censored Countries
- Video: 10 Most Censored Countries
- 10 Most Censored Countries
- Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan top CPJ’s 10 most censored list
Reporter Without Borders
- Progress for press freedom in new European Commission, but concerns as well
- US – #WeeklyAddress: September 9 – 15: North Carolina state senator assaults journalist, throws phone
- RSF’s press freedom appeal to Tunisia’s presidential candidates
- RSF’s press freedom appeal to Tunisia’s presidential candidates
- Cameroonian journalist held three years must be evacuated RSF says
- Another Moroccan journalist subjected to judicial persecution
- Press freedom in Turkey remains in crisis, despite some room for very cautious optimism
- Dagestani journalist’s detention extended, despite baseless charges
OPC Applauds Release of Reuters Journalists
NEW YORK, May 7, 2019—The Overseas Press Club congratulates Reuters on the release of reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who have been pardoned by Myanmar authorities. The journalists were arrested in December 2017 and later convicted of violating Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Read the Reuters story here >>
Their release is a major victory for the global press freedom movement and Reuters’ relentless advocacy for their imprisoned journalists.
“We are enormously pleased that Myanmar has released our courageous reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo,” said Steve Adler, editor in chief, Reuters in a statement. “Since their arrests 511 days ago, they have become symbols of the importance of press freedom around the world. We welcome their return.”
The United Nations praised the release of the Myanmar reporters but cautioned that “no positive progress has been observed” in the Myanmar’s government’s stance against freedom of expression.
“The situation for freedom of expression (in Myanmar) is dire,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office.
The journalists were arrested in December 2017, a sign of Myanmar’s deteriorating press freedoms under Nobel laureate and civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
They were convicted on charges of violating the official secrets act and sentenced to seven years each.
The Overseas Press Club is an international association of journalists based in New York City that works to encourage the highest standards in journalism, to educate the next generation of foreign correspondents and to promote international press freedom and the well-being of colleagues in the field.