Europe & Central Asia

Vilnius, Lithuania, August 10, 2020 — Belarusian authorities should refrain from assaulting and detaining journalists covering protests, and should hold police officers accountable for attacks on the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, riot police in Minsk, the capital, assaulted at least four journalists and detained at least five, according to news…

Vladimir Sevrinovsky is a Moscow-based freelance journalist and documentary photographer who has covered social and cultural issues in Russia for independent news site Meduza, independent weekly Russkii Reporter, and Kavkaz.Realii, a regional service of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others. Sevrinovsky’s most recent assignment was to report from Russia’s North Caucasus…

Vilnius, Lithuania, August 6, 2020 — Belarusian authorities should immediately release blogger Evgeniy Vasilkov and allow him and other journalists to freely and safely cover upcoming presidential elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.    On July 31, police arrested Vasilkov, a blogger who also works as a mechanic, at his garage in Khoiniki, near…

Since July 25, 2020, Uzbek police and representatives of the country’s public prosecutor’s office have interrogated at least six local journalists and confiscated their computers and mobile devices, according to news reports and journalists who spoke to CPJ. On July 25, several local Uzbek outlets shared allegations originally published on the news website Repost that…

The European Union is reviewing the legal framework for digital information, goods and services—a process with the potential to change the course of internet history for journalists and everybody else.  In June, the European Commission launched public consultations about the upcoming Digital Services Act (DSA), an initiative to review and expand rules established 20 years…

Nearly three dozen media and press freedom organizations, as well as 10 major human rights organizations and experts, have signed on to amicus briefs in support of CPJ’s appeal in its lawsuit seeking documents on whether U.S. intelligence agencies knew of threats to Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi before his murder by the Saudi government….

New York, July 27, 2020 – Authorities in the Russian republic of Dagestan should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the death threat against journalist Svetlana Anokhina and ensure she has adequate protection, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.  On July 22, a man called Anokhina and threatened to kill her, the journalist…

New York, July 25, 2020 – In response to the death of award-winning journalist and human rights activist Azimjon Askarov in a Kyrgyzstan prison today, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:  “Azimjon Askarov’s death is a direct result of Kyrgyzstan authorities’ disregard for his health and basic human rights. This is a…

Istanbul, July 23, 2020—A draft bill to strengthen state control of social media platforms, as well as data about those who use them in Turkey, is a troubling sign in a country where journalists are routinely jailed for posting online, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The leading Justice and Development Party (AKP) proposed…

Vilnius, Lithuania, July 23, 2020 — Russian authorities should conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the assault of journalist Dmitriy Nizovtsev and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.  This evening, three unidentified men attacked Nizovtsev, a correspondent for Shtab Navalnogo, a YouTube-based news outlet owned by opposition leader Aleksey…