Europe & Central Asia
2019
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week beginning January 20, 2019
Jailed journalist Nazlı Ilıcak sentenced to extra 5-year prison term An Istanbul court on January 22 sentenced veteran journalist Nazlı Ilıcak to five years and 10 months in prison for “exposing secret documents,” the news website Diken reported. Ilıcak, who worked most recently with shuttered outlets Can Erzincan TV and the daily Özgür Düşünce, is…
In Macedonia, journalist attacked covering religious event
Mirjana Mircevska-Jovanović, a reporter for Kanal 5, a privately owned television station, was attacked in the capital, Skopje, on January 19, 2019 while covering an event celebrating the Orthodox Christian holiday of Epiphany, according to local news site Telma.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of January 13, 2019
Turkey deports Dutch journalist Authorities on January 17 deported Ans Boersma, a Dutch freelance journalist based in Istanbul, BBC Turkish reported. The journalist was taken into custody the day before, when she tried to renew her residence permit at the Foreigners’ Office in Istanbul. She was detained overnight at a police station, and put on…
In Romania, EU data protection law used to try to muzzle Rise Project
Finding a suitcase full of documents is every journalist’s dream. But for the investigative outlet Rise Project, it quickly turned into a legal nightmare after Romanian authorities filed a complaint under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ordering the outlet to reveal its sources or pay a fine of up to 20 million euros…
Montenegro jails investigative journalist who reports on organized crime
New York, January 15, 2019–A Montenegro court today convicted investigative journalist Jovo Martinović of drug trafficking and being a member of a criminal group, and sentenced him to 18 months in prison, regional media reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the sentence and called on authorities to not contest the journalist’s appeal.
Russia jails blogger for 10 days after sharing video online
New York, January 15, 2019 – Russian authorities should immediately release blogger Viktor Toroptsev from jail, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court in the city of Amursk, in the Far Eastern region of Khabarovsk, handed a 10-day sentence to Toroptsev yesterday, ostensibly for a traffic violation, after he shared a video on…
Journalists verbally harassed by demonstrators in London
On January 7, 2019, journalists working near the Parliament building in London were repeatedly verbally harassed by supporters of Brexit, the United Kingdom’s impending withdrawal from the European Union, according to news reports and the journalists’ posts on social media.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of January 7, 2019
Erdoğan says Turkish media is ‘more democratic’ In a message to mark Working Journalists’ Day–a local press freedom day on January 10–Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “The reforms actualized in the past 16 years have enabled the Turkish press to be richer, diverse, and meet a more democratic and liberal structure,” Duvar reported.
Gagging orders, legal action, and communist era laws used to try to ‘choke’ Polish press
Polish security agents enter the house of a prominent TV journalist over accusations that he propagated Nazi propaganda. Police summon a reporter over claims that he breached the privacy of the vice-head of the constitutional court. And Poland’s central bank files gagging orders against two papers, demanding they remove several articles about a corruption scandal…
Italian journalists harassed and assaulted by far-right extremists
Berlin, January 8, 2019–Italian authorities should quickly and thoroughly investigate the harassment and physical assault of two Italian journalists by a group of far-right extremists and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.