Europe & Central Asia
2020
Croatian reporters attacked while documenting Easter Mass amid COVID-19 lockdown
On April 12, 2020, in the coastal Croatian city of Split, several unidentified men attacked Živana Šušak Živković, a reporter working for local news website Dalmatinskiportal, and Ivana Sivro, a camera operator for local broadcaster N1 TV, while they were documenting an Easter Mass held despite a ban on public gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic,…
Russian authorities bring new charges against jailed journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiev
Vilnius, Lithuania, April 14, 2020 — Authorities in the Russian republic of Dagestan should immediately release journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiev and drop all the charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Turkey amnesty bill would release 90,000 prisoners, but no journalists
New York, April 7, 2020 — In response to the Turkish Parliament’s proposed bill that would release 90,000 prisoners to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, but which would not free journalists held as political prisoners, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:
Slovenian journalist Blaž Zgaga on facing off against a government fighting COVID-19 coverage
Blaž Zgaga is a freelance Slovenian investigative journalist and a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists who covers national security and defense. In his reporting, he has uncovered corruption and written about arms trafficking in the region.
For Turkish journalists, fear of contracting COVID-19 competes with fear of arrest
Journalist Evrim Kepenek works in Istanbul as the women and LGBTI+ news editor for the independent news website Bianet. Like most people, she works from home these days, but she is also a street reporter who recently observed twin fears among the Turkish public: getting infected with COVID-19 and getting arrested for talking about it.
CPJ, partners call on Council of Europe to protect press freedom amid COVID-19 pandemic
On March 31, CPJ and nine partner organizations wrote to the Secretary General and the Committee of Ministers at the Council of Europe to express concern about government restrictions on the media during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kyrgyz president must release journalist Azimjon Askarov amid COVID-19 epidemic
CPJ today joined eight other human rights and press freedom organizations to call for the immediate release of journalist and human rights defender Azimjon Askarov, who has been serving a life sentence in retaliation for his reporting since June 2010.
