Europe & Central Asia

Contact CPJ Europe & Central Asia

Facebook: CPJ ECA Desk
Program Coordinator:
Gulnoza Said

Researcher:
Anna Brakha

Tel: 212-465-1004
Fax: 212-214-0640

Knight Foundation Press Freedom Center
P.O. Box 2675
New York, NY 10108 USA

  
Heydar Aliyev International Airport

Azerbaijani authorities detain at least 6 journalists on currency smuggling charges

New York, December 6, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the Azerbaijani authorities’ detention of at least six journalists and media workers in the capital Baku on Friday. At around noon, independent journalist Ramin Jabrayilzade (also known as Ramin Deko) was detained at the Baku airport upon arrival from neighboring Georgia, where he was covering…

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Journalist Berat Buzhala, founder of the online media outlet Nacionale, received a death threat on December 2 via Facebook messenger. (Photo: Valdrin Xhemaj)

Kosovo journalist Berat Buzhala, Nacionale newsroom receive death threat

Berlin December 5, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kosovo authorities to ensure the safety of journalist Berat Buzhala, founder of the online media outlet Nacionale, following a December 2 death threat he received via Facebook messenger threatening his safety and his colleagues’. “We welcome the Kosovo authorities’ swift investigation into a death threat…

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Publika reporter Aleksandre Keshelashvili suffered a broken nose following an assault by police officers before he was detained at a Tbilisi police station, among other reported incidents of journalists being assaulted while covering pro-European Union demonstrations. (Photo: Courtesy of Publika)

CPJ condemns police brutality against journalists covering Georgian protests

New York, December 4, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Georgian authorities to hold police officers accountable and ensure journalists’ safety following multiple reports of least 50 journalists injured during violent police dispersals of pro-European Union demonstrations between November 28 and December 3. “The protection of journalists is a hallmark of democratic…

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Serbian members of parliament Marinika Tepic and Borislav Novakovic, and other opposition representatives scuffle with police officers during a protest over the fatal collapse of a roof at a railway station, demanding that those responsible for the disaster be brought to justice, in front of a court house in Novi Sad, Serbia, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC2I9BAWRSBX

N1 TV, Nova journalists attacked while covering Serbian demonstrations

Berlin, December 4, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Serbian authorities to take immediate and effective steps to ensure the safety of journalists covering demonstrations after recent  physical attacks on journalists.  “We welcome Serbian authorities’ quick response to recent physical attacks on reporters covering protests and call on them to swiftly bring…

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Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 6, 2024. Zakharova announced on November 27 that German journalists Frank Aischmann and Sven Feller were “ordered to hand in their accreditation” and leave Russian territory. (Photo: AFP/Olga Maltseva)

Russia expels 2 German journalists in retaliatory response

New York, November 27, 2024—Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a Wednesday press briefing that German journalists Frank Aischmann and Sven Feller were “ordered to hand in their accreditation” and leave Russian territory “in due time.” Zakharova said the move was a “symmetrical measure” to German authorities’ ban “on the presence and work”…

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Turkish press freedom groups

Police detain multiple journalists in house raids across Turkey

Istanbul, November 27, 2024—Turkish authorities should stop treating journalists like terrorists by raiding their homes and detaining them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. “Turkish authorities once more raided the homes of multiple journalists in the middle of the night, in order to portray them as dangerous criminals, and detained them without offering any…

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Supporters of Georgia's opposition parties hold a rally to protest against the results of a parliamentary election, which the opposition say were rigged, on the eve of the new parliament's first session in Tbilisi, Georgia November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze - RC2UBBAJWGIY

Georgian Parliament bars non-broadcast media access, amid other restrictions

New York, November 27, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Georgia’s Parliament to lift all restrictions on journalists’ entry into the parliament building, introduced on November 25 amid widespread protests against alleged fraud in the country’s October parliamentary elections. “At a crucial juncture in Georgia’s history, steps to restrict journalists’ access to Parliament are concerning and threaten to…

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Russian journalist Nika Novak sentenced to 4 years in prison

New York, November 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to immediately release Russian journalist Nika Novak, who was sentenced by a court in the far-eastern city of Chita on Tuesday to four years in prison on “confidential cooperation with a foreign organization” charges.  “Nika Novak’s four-year prison sentence handed behind closed doors in the…

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Ediye Muslimova

Russia detains Crimean journalist Ediye Muslimova for 36 hours

New York, November 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of journalist Ediye Muslimova, in Simferopol, the capital of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, and calls on the authorities to stop harassing Crimean journalists. “Ediye Muslimova’s detention is deeply concerning in light of the continuous crackdown on journalists in Ukraine’s Crimea,” said Gulnoza Said,…

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Ashgabat-based Turkmen photojournalist Soltan Achilova. (Photo: Soltan Achilova)

Turkmen journalist Soltan Achilova forcibly hospitalized, prevented from traveling abroad

New York, November 25, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkmen authorities to end the ongoing oppression of veteran journalist Soltan Achilova, who was forcibly hospitalized and again prevented from traveling abroad to be honored as a Martin Ennals award finalist for her work documenting human rights violations in Turkmenistan. Several men in medical uniforms arrived…

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