Press Freedom
CPJ Updates
- Haiti, Israel most likely to let journalists’ murders go unpunished, CPJ 2024 impunity index shows
- No justice for journalists targeted by Israel despite strong evidence of war crime
- On Edge: What the US election could mean for journalists and global press freedom
- Forced to flee: Exiled journalists face unsafe passage and transnational repression
- Israel-Gaza war brings 2023 journalist killings to devastating high
- 2023 prison census: Jailed journalist numbers near record high; Israel imprisonments spike
- Haiti joins list of countries where killers of journalists most likely to go unpunished
- Ecuador on edge: Political paralysis and spiking crime pose new threats to press freedom
- Deadly Pattern: 20 journalists died by Israeli military fire in 22 years. No one has been held accountable.
Reporter Without Borders
Saudi Arabia
OPC Condemns Saudi Arabia’s Jailing of Cartoonist for Political Speech
NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2024 –The Overseas Press Club of America strongly condemns the government of Saudi Arabia’s 23-year prison sentence of cartoonist Mohammed al-Ghamdi, who draws under the pen name of Al-Hazza, for expressing himself via his cartoons. The government recently extended the sentence to 23 years from six years already served. The cartoonist has contested the charges against him, saying they were fabricated. He was arrested in February 2018 by Saudi authorities, who accused him of producing “offensive cartoons” for Lusail, a Qatari newspaper, despite having ceased contributions to the publication. The OPC stands with Mohammed al-Ghamdi and those expressing themselves as journalists – whether as reporters, editors, broadcast journalists or in this case, cartoonists – and condemns efforts to harass, interfere with, arrest or jail journalists for doing their work. We call on Saudi Arabian authorities to immediately release the cartoonist and restore his civil rights. Journalism and the free expression of ideas are not crimes.The Overseas Press Club of America is the nation’s oldest and largest association of journalists engaged in international news. Every year, it awards the most prestigious prizes devoted exclusively to international news coverage. It was founded in 1939 by nine foreign correspondents in New York City, and has grown to nearly 500 members worldwide. The club’s mission is to uphold the highest standards in news reporting, advance press freedom and promote good fellowship among colleag