PFUJ calls for end to Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
November 02, 2025: PFUJ urges Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and ensure their safety and press freedom.
JournalismPakistan.com | Published 6 years ago
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NEW YORK - The Committee to Protect Journalists and media luminaries from around the world last night celebrated courageous journalists from Sudan, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam at the 28th annual International Press Freedom Awards.
Also joining the ceremony were two past awardees who had been imprisoned at the time they were honored.
"The forces of press repression seem to be getting louder and more powerful by the minute. Bullies, despots, and murderers think they are winning. They believe they can shut us up forever because no one cares about journalists," said Kathleen Carroll, chair of CPJ's board. "But they are wrong. They won't win. Because we will keep fighting them. It will take all of us, but we will keep fighting."
Of CPJ's 2018 awardees, Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known as Me Nam or "Mother Mushroom," accepted her award from veteran journalist and "60 Minutes" correspondent Lester Holt. The blogger was sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in prison, but released last month following advocacy by CPJ and others.
Venezuelan investigative reporter and co-founder of independent news website Efecto Cocuyo, Luz Mely Reyes, received her award from Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation and a CPJ board member, presented the award to Anastasiya Stanko, a Ukrainian broadcast journalist. Amal Khalifa Idris Habbani, a freelance journalist and contributor to the Sudanese news outlet Al-Taghyeer, was presented her award by Lydia Polgreen, Editor-in-Chief of HuffPost and a CPJ board member.
Two journalists who were imprisoned when they were named awardees in 2017 and 2012, respectively - Ahmed Abba, a Cameroonian correspondent for Radio France Internationale, and Tibetan documentary filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen-- also took the stage to accept their honors.
Rappler editor Maria Ressa was presented with the 2018 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award by Sheila Coronel, director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, dean of academic affairs at the Columbia University School of Journalism, and a CPJ senior adviser.
The event, at the Grand Hyatt New York, included an appeal matched by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and raised over $2.2 million.
CPJ also launched a campaign seeking justice for slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Hundreds of guests filled out signs highlighting the importance of journalism and shared photos on social media with the hashtag #JusticeForJamal.
"CPJ is a voice for all jailed journalists. Their staff publicly and privately calls for imprisoned journalists to be released and for restrictive media laws to be reformed. They conduct advocacy so that government leaders know their actions are being watched," said Meher Tatna, President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the awards dinner chair.
"Because of their dedication to the safety of journalists, the HFPA was honored to grant a million dollars to CPJ at our last Golden Globes in January, and I am honored to represent the membership of HFPA here today."- A CPJ press release
November 02, 2025: PFUJ urges Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and ensure their safety and press freedom.
November 02, 2025: Impunity for crimes against journalists deepens worldwide as Pakistan reports a 60 percent surge in attacks and weak enforcement of safety laws.
November 01, 2025: Pakistan Press Foundation reports 137 attacks on journalists in 2025, highlighting rising threats, legal harassment, and censorship on the International Day to End Impunity.
November 01, 2025: A viral Samaa TV clip featuring MNA Sher Afzal Marwat’s crude remarks and Talat Hussain’s laughter raises questions about the declining ethics of Pakistani television.
October 31, 2025: Police foiled a plot to kill DawnNewsTV journalist Tahir Naseer in Rawalpindi after arresting suspects hired for Rs200,000. Naseer says threats followed his reporting.
October 31, 2025: CPJ calls on Pakistan to bring Imtiaz Mir’s killers to justice after the journalist was allegedly murdered by a banned militant group in Karachi.
October 30, 2025: The PFUJ has condemned a fabricated drug case against journalist Matiullah Jan, calling it an attempt to silence him and urging authorities to quash the charges immediately.
October 30, 2025: NewsOne TV remains on air but faces mass layoffs and delayed salaries, exposing Pakistan’s worsening media crisis and financial instability.
November 02, 2025 Independent outlet All About Macau to halt print and online operations amid rising pressure, financial strain, and legal threats, sparking press freedom concerns in the city.
November 01, 2025 Belarus court jails journalist Siarhei Chabotska for extremism and defaming the president, highlighting Minsk’s ongoing crackdown on press freedom.
November 01, 2025 Mexican journalist Miguel Angel Beltran was found murdered in Durango. CPJ urges authorities to ensure justice amid rising violence against journalists in Mexico.
November 01, 2025 UNESCO survey finds one-third of media lawyers cannot effectively defend journalists due to threats, limited resources, and lack of specialization.
October 31, 2025 Radio Free Asia, a US government-funded broadcaster covering tightly controlled Asian media environments, has suspended all news operations after federal funding dried up.