2019

British freelance journalist and blogger Alice Taylor, who writes for various international publications and for the Albania-focused news website Exit, has been targeted in a smear campaign by pro-government news outlets in Albania and had her residency permit renewal denied, the journalist told CPJ.

Evrensel journalist acquitted over Paradise Papers charge An Istanbul court on March 19 acquitted Çağrı Sarı, the former responsible news editor for the leftist daily Evrensel, of insult and libel, her employer reported. The case focused on Evrensel’s coverage of the Paradise Papers in April, which alleged that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak,…

New York, March 14, 2019 — Kazakhstan authorities should not contest journalist Saniya Toiken’s appeal of a fine imposed in response to her coverage of protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Court convicts Gün Printing House owner and staff An Istanbul court on March 11 convicted seven employees of the Gün Printing House, including the owner, Kasım Zengin, of anti-state charges and sentenced them to prison, the pro-Kurdish Mezopatamya News Agency reported. The court acquitted 15 other employees who were also on trial.

On February 20, 2019, Jaroslaw Kaczyński, the leader of Poland’s ruling PiS party, filed a criminal libel complaint at the Warsaw public prosecutor’s office against Wojciech Czuchnowski and Iwona Szpala, investigative journalists at the country’s biggest independent daily newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza, according to their employer.

Kiev, March 8, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Ukraine to reverse its decision to ban Christian Wehrschütz, a veteran reporter for the state-run Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, from entering the country for one year.

Kiev, March 8, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Ukrainian authorities to swiftly investigate an assault on reporter Katerina Kaplyuk and cameraman Boris Trotsenko, who work for the investigative news show “Schemes,” a project of U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Ukrainian Service, and to ensure their attackers are held accountable.

On International Women’s Day, CPJ has highlighted the cases of female journalists jailed around the world in retaliation for their work. At least 33 of the 251 journalists in jail at the time of CPJ’s prison census are women. At least one of those–Turkish reporter and artist Zehra Dogan–was released in February after serving a…

New York, March 7, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalist today called on Russia to drop proposed legislation advanced in the country’s parliament that would allow courts to jail and fine people who use the internet to spread “fake news” or disrespect government officials and state symbols, including President Vladimir Putin. The bills would also allow…

Journalist and former CHP politician sentenced An Istanbul court on March 1 convicted Eren Erdem, the former chief editor for the defunct daily Karşı and a former parliamentary deputy in the main opposition party CHP, of “knowingly and willingly helping a [terrorist] organization without being involved in the organization’s hierarchical structure,” and sentenced him to…