Europe & Central Asia

2019

  
Police are seen in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on September 3, 2016. Police recently arrested blogger Nodirbek Hojimatov in Shahrikhan. (AP/Umida Akhmedova)

Uzbek blogger Nodirbek Hojimatov sentenced to 10 days in prison for Facebook post

Washington, D.C., September 16, 2019 — Authorities in Uzbekistan must immediately release blogger Nodirbek Hojimatov and allow him to work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Aleksei Pukach is seen at a Kiev district court on January 29, 2013. Pukach was convicted in the 2000 murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze, and is now appealing his life sentence. (AFP/Sergei Supinsky)

Man convicted of murdering Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze appeals life sentence

Washington, D.C., September 16, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over the appeal of Aleksei Pukach, a man convicted of murdering Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze. The appeal hearings began in Ukraine’s Supreme Court on September 4 and will resume on October 9, according to news reports.

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Police officers are seen in Moscow, Russia, on August 3, 2019. Police in Saratov recently raided journalist AleksandrNikishin's apartment and interrogated him. (AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian police raid home of journalist Aleksandr Nikishin

Vilnius, September 13, 2019 — Russian authorities should stop harassing journalist Aleksandr Nikishin and allow him to work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Former staffers of the Turkish daily newspaper Cumhuriyet--cartoonist Musa Kart (C), columnist Guray Oz (L), board member Onder Celik (L2), layers Mustafa Kemal Gungor (R2), and columnist Hakan Kara (R)--speak with journalists after their release near from Kandira prison, in Kandira, Turkey, on September 12, 2019. A joint mission to Turkey found that the press freedom situation remains highly restrictive, despite some room for very cautious optimism. (Stringer/Cumhuriyet Daily Newspaper/AFP)

Press freedom situation in Turkey remains highly restrictive, despite some room for very cautious optimism, joint mission finds

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined an international press freedom mission to Turkey that met with journalists, civil society, diplomats, the judiciary, and government officials. The visiting delegation voiced concern about the continued crackdown on journalists in the country and the need for the authorities to protect a free press, address inconsistencies and…

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The headquarters of the Cumhuriyet newspaper is seen in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 16, 2017. Five imprisoned staffers of the paper were released following an appeals court decision today. (Reuters/Murad Sezer)

Five staffers of Turkey’s Cumhuriyet newspaper released from jail

Istanbul, September 12, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed a decision by the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals to overturn a verdict by a lower court and release five former staffers of the Cumhuriyet newspaper who have been imprisoned since April.

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A Turkish court is seen in Istanbul on July 6, 2018. Turkey's courts recently opened their new judicial year with fines and stiff penalties for journalists. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Turkish courts open new judicial year with fines, jail sentences for journalists

Turkish courts opened their new judicial year on September 2, 2019, with delayed sentences of jailtime, fines, and mandatory library time for journalists, according to news reports.

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Italian police are seen in Ostia on November 10, 2017. Journalist Claudio Lattanzio’s car was recently destroyed in an arson attack in Sulmona. (AFP/Filippo Monteforte)

Italian photojournalist Claudio Lattanzio’s car destroyed in arson attack

On August 15, 2019, in Sulmona, central Italy, unidentified individuals burned the car of Claudio Lattanzio, a photojournalist for local daily Il Centro and collaborator with Italian news agency Ansa, according to a report by the daily.

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President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon speaks during the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, on September 19, 2017. The independent Tajik news agency Asia Plus has been offline since August 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Independent Tajik news agency Asia Plus kicked offline

Washington, D.C., September 10, 2019–Websites and email addresses belonging to embattled independent news agency Asia Plus in Tajikistan have been down since August 19, according to the agency and Radio Ozodi, the Tajik-language service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

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10 Most Censored Countries

Repressive governments use sophisticated digital censorship and surveillance alongside more traditional methods to silence independent media. A special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Published September 10, 2019 Eritrea is the world’s most censored country, according to a list compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The list is based on CPJ’s research into the…

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Investigative journalist Jovo Martinović is appealing an 18-month prison sentence in Montenegro. (Family handout)

Montenegro authorities should not contest journalist Jovo Martinović’s appeal

Berlin, September 9, 2019 — A court in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, on September 12 will begin hearing investigative reporter Jovo Martinović’s appeal of his January conviction on charges of drug trafficking and criminal association, for which he was sentenced for 18 months in prison, according to a statement by a group of press freedom…

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2019