Europe & Central Asia
2015
Armenian reporters injured, equipment damaged while covering protest
At least 14 journalists were injured and had their equipment damaged while they were covering a protest in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on June 23, 2015, according to local and international news reports. Several of the journalists were also briefly detained at a local police station, the independent news website Armenia Now reported.
Al-Jazeera journalist detained while headed to Qatar
New York, June 21, 2015–An Al-Jazeera journalist was detained on Saturday in Berlin while headed to Qatar, according to news reports. Ahmad Mansour, a British-Egyptian TV host for the Qatar-based broadcaster, was detained in connection with an Egyptian arrest warrant dating back to a 2014 conviction in Egypt on politically motivated charges, news reports said.…
Turkish editor given suspended prison term for insulting Erdoğan on Twitter
New York, June 19, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a suspended prison term given to the editor of the English-language Turkish daily Today’s Zaman on Wednesday on charges of insulting then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a July 2014 tweet.
Russian journalist detained, beaten in eastern Ukraine
New York, June 17, 2015–A correspondent for the independent Moscow-based Novaya Gazeta was obstructed and briefly detained by the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, according to news reports. Pavel Kanygin, a special correspondent for the newspaper, said he was beaten and interrogated in custody and then forced to leave the…
Media freedom advocate Emin Huseynov flees Azerbaijan as Baku hosts European Games
New York, June 13, 2015-Azerbaijani journalist Emin Huseynov was flown into exile in Switzerland on June 12, a few hours after the opening ceremony of the European Games in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, according to reports. Fearing imminent arrest during the country’s crackdown on rights groups and the press, Huseynov, the director of media freedom group…
CPJ condemns death threats against Elena Milashina, calls for investigation
New York, June 11, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns death threats issued against Elena Milashina, an award-winning investigative reporter for the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and Moscow correspondent for CPJ, and calls on authorities to ensure her safety.
Baku 2015: Press freedom, Azerbaijan, and the European Games
Tomorrow 50 countries are due to take part in the opening ceremony of the inaugural European Games in Baku, but Azerbaijan’s most prominent journalist, Khadija Ismayilova, will not be at the celebrations. The award-winning investigative reporter has been in jail since December on retaliatory charges over her writing on corruption.
CPJ condemns attack on investigative journalist in Croatia
New York, June 2, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attack on investigative reporter Zeljko Peratovic who, according to news reports, was beaten in his home in Luka Pokupska, near the city of Karlovac, and calls on Croatian authorities to investigate if journalism was the motive.
Erdoğan threatens Cumhuriyet, editor-in-chief over arms smuggling report
Istanbul, June 1, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s legal threats against pro-opposition daily newspaper Cumhuriyet and Can Dündar, its editor-in-chief, whom the president accused of espionage during a live broadcast Sunday night on state-run television.