Committee to Protect Journalists – Defending Journalists Worldwide.

CPJ welcomes release of Gershkovich, Kurmasheva; says Russia must do more

Reunited: Journalists Evan Gershkovich (left) and Alsu Kurmasheva (center-right) were reunited with their families on August 1, 2024, after Russia released them as part of a prisoner exchange. (Photos: Reuters)

The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) editor Alsu Kurmasheva as part of a prisoner exchange, and calls on Russia to release other jailed journalists and stop harassing those in exile.

“Evan and Alsu have been apart from their families for far too long,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “They were detained and sentenced on spurious charges intended to punish them for their journalism and stifle independent reporting. Their release is welcome – but it does not change the fact that Russia continues to suppress a free press. Moscow needs to release all jailed journalists and end its campaign of using in absentia arrest warrants and sentences against exiled Russian journalists.”

Gershkovich and Kurmasheva were sentenced on July 19 to 16 years and 6½ years in prison respectively. Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, spent 16 months in detention before being convicted on charges of espionage; Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, was held for more than nine months before she was convicted on charges of spreading “fake” news about the Russian army.

Al Jazeera journalists Ismail Al Ghoul and Rami Al Refee killed in Gaza

A screenshot of a news segment. Images include the struck car of the journalists, the two journalists in blue press vests, and a third reporter speaking live. Text on screen reads "Al Jazeera Journalists Killed In Gaza" and "Ismail Al Ghoul and Rami Al Refee Targeted In Strike." — An Israeli airstrike killed Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Al Ghoul (top right) and camera operator Rami Al Refee (top left) in Gaza on July 31, 2024. (Screenshot: Al Jazeera English/YouTube)

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Israel to explain the killing of Al Jazeera Gaza correspondent Ismail Al Ghoul and camera operator Rami Al Refee in an Israeli airstrike west of Gaza City on July 31.

“CPJ is dismayed by the news that Al Jazeera TV reporter Ismail Al Ghoul and cameraman Rami Al Refee were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “Journalists are civilians and should never be targeted. Israel must explain why two more Al Jazeera journalists have been killed in what appears to be a direct strike.”

Al Ghoul and Al Refee were covering the aftermath of the assassination of the senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, reporting from in front of Haniyeh’s home in Gaza an hour before they were killed.

The Committee to Protect Journalists promotes press freedom worldwide.

We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

Journalists Attacked

Myat Thu Tan

MURDERED

Myat Thu Tan, a contributor to the local news website Western News and correspondent for several independent Myanmar news outlets, was shot and killed on January 31, 2024, while in military custody in Mrauk-U in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State.

He was arrested on September 22, 2022, and held in pre-trial detention under a broad provision of the penal code that criminalizes incitement and the dissemination of false news for critical posts he made on his Facebook page. Myat Thu Tan had not been tried or convicted at the time of his death.

The journalist’s body was found buried in a bomb shelter, with the bodies of six other political detainees, and showed signs of torture.

Myanmar’s military junta has cracked down on journalists and media outlets since seizing power in a February 2021 coup.

Learn more about Myat Thu Tan