Europe & Central Asia
2013
Bulgarian journalists are under attack
This summer, for good reason, the world’s attention was focused on Turkey. Anti-government protests over plans to destroy a park in downtown Istanbul attracted global attention. Ankara’s strategic importance in Syria and the Middle East, as well as being a member of NATO, makes what happens in Turkey important.
Mission Journal: Why Turkey matters
Turkey is hardly a press freedom paradise, but what makes the country so exciting for journalists is the amount of news it generates on any given day. The domestic story is huge, with near-daily street protests, the booming economy beginning to sag, and the prospect of regional conflict looming with Syria. And Istanbul is a…
In Azerbaijan, journalist arrested, newsroom raided
New York, September 19, 2013–Authorities in Azerbaijan must immediately release a journalist who was arrested on Tuesday on fabricated charges and ordered detained for two months, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The press in Azerbaijan must be allowed to freely cover the country’s next presidential vote, scheduled for October 9, if it is…
CPJ: Turkey Press Freedom Crisis Worsens Post-Gezi
Ankara, September 17, 2013–Heated anti-press rhetoric, the firing of leading journalists, threats to restrict online speech, and a series of physical and legal assaults further damaged the press freedom environment in Turkey in the months following the Gezi Park protests that began last May. In a letter to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Committee…
CPJ calls on Erdogan to embrace press freedom
Dear Prime Minister Erdoğan, as an independent international press freedom advocacy organization, we are concerned about the continued press freedom crisis in Turkey. We believe the government’s failure to safeguard press freedom undermines the great strengths of your nation.
CPJ, HRW write to future IOC president, receive response
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch have jointly called on the six presidential candidates of the International Olympics Committee to ensure that future host countries of the Olympic Games fully comply with human rights principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter, including press freedom and non-discrimination.
Olympics: Next IOC Leader Should Back Rights Reforms
New York, August 23, 2013–The next president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should ensure that future host countries comply with human rights in full accordance with the Olympic Charter, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said today. On August 2, 2013, Human Rights Watch and CPJ sent a letter to…
Cameron should probe Miranda detention, return data
Dear Prime Minister David Cameron: The U.K.’s use of anti-terror laws to seize journalistic material from David Miranda, partner and assistant to Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald, is deeply troubling and not in keeping with the U.K’s historic commitment to press freedom. We call on you to launch a thorough and transparent investigation and to ensure that his confiscated equipment and data are returned at once.