Europe & Central Asia documents by Year:
CPJ and rights groups call on President Poroshenko to prioritize Pavel Sheremet murder case
July 20, 2017 6:01 PM ET
CPJ today joined seven other media rights organizations-- all part of the Council of Europe's Platform to protect journalism and promote the safety of journalists--in signing a joint letter to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The letter calls on the president to ensure an effective investigation into the murder of...
Russian independent journalist Yulia Latynina attacked
July 20, 2017 4:03 PM ET
New York, July 20, 2017 -- Russian authorities should investigate an attack on prominent independent journalist and columnist Yulia Latynina, bring those responsible to justice, and ensure her safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In the early hours yesterday, unknown assailants sprayed a foul-smelling substance through an open...
Azerbaijan court sentences blogger to three years in jail
July 20, 2017 3:29 PM ET
New York, July 20, 2017--A Baku court today convicted Russian-Israeli blogger Aleksandr Lapshin to three years in jail for illegally crossing the state border, international and Azerbaijani media reported. The charges are related to three trips that Lapshin made between April 2011 and June 2016 to the disputed region...
Russian journalist warned by anonymous text messages to stop reporting
July 18, 2017 5:34 PM ET
New York, July 18, 2017--Russian authorities should investigate threatening messages that business reporter Rinat Sagdiyev said he has received, and ensure the journalist's safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today....
Russia-backed separatists holding Ukrainian journalist, accuse him of espionage
July 17, 2017 1:06 PM ET
New York, July 17, 2017--Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's east should immediately release Donetsk-based journalist Stanyslav Aseyev, who has been detained by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Aseyev, who has contributed to the Ukrainian service of the U.S.-government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty under...
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of July 16, 2017
July 17, 2017 1:01 PM ET
Germany says Turkey offered prisoner swap for jailed journalist German daily Bild cited an unnamed German diplomatic source as saying that Turkey offered to exchange imprisoned journalist Deniz Yücel for two former generals who sought asylum in Germany. Germany's foreign ministry rejected the offer, the anonymous source told Bild....
Security forces raid Ukrainian media group
July 14, 2017 3:28 PM ET
New York, July 14, 2017--Ukrainian authorities should cease harassing journalists and employees of the Vesti media company, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. National police and military prosecutors today raided the Kiev office of Media Holding Vesti, which includes Radio Vesti, the daily newspaper Vesti, and the news...
A year after attempted coup in Turkey, media landscape purged of critical voices
July 13, 2017 11:30 AM ET
The history of modern Turkish politics is rife with military intervention--the army has toppled elected governments four times since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the modern Turkish state in 1923, and has strong-armed them into submission countless other times. One of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's greatest accomplishments has been returning...
Justice Denied: Ukraine comes up empty in probe of Pavel Sheremet's murder
July 12, 2017 12:00 AM ET
A year after prominent journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed by a car bomb in Kiev, no one has been arrested or prosecuted, even though Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko vowed a swift investigation. Authorities say Russia is the prime suspect, but the lack of progress in the case, coupled with...