Europe & Central Asia
2024
Azerbaijani authorities charge Kanal 13 journalists Aziz Orujov and Shamo Eminov over alleged foreign donor money, order channel blocked
Stockholm, January 8, 2024—Azerbaijani authorities should release journalists Aziz Orujov and Shamo Eminov, overturn a block on their outlet Kanal 13, and stop retaliating against critical independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On December 22, police in the capital, Baku, detained Eminov, a freelance reporter who contributes to the popular YouTube-based broadcaster…
At least 3 journalists injured in missile strikes in Ukraine
New York, January 5, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday has called for an investigation into recent missile attacks in Ukraine that injured at least three journalists reporting on the war during the final weeks of 2023. On December 30, Svitlana Dolbysheva, a producer with the German public broadcaster ZDF, was injured when Russian…
In Tajikistan, independent media throttled by state repression
Giant portraits of President Emomali Rahmon adorn even the most nondescript buildings in Tajikistan’s capital of Dushanbe. Throughout the country, his sayings are featured on posters and billboards. Their ubiquitous presence underscores the consolidation of power by Rahmon – officially described as “Founder of Peace and Unity, Leader of the Nation” – since he emerged…
Turkish editor Furkan Karabay arrested for reporting on corruption trial of judiciary members
Istanbul, January 2, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Turkish authorities to immediately release journalist Furkan Karabay and to stop criminalizing reporting on the judiciary. Istanbul police took Karabay, an editor for independent news website Gerçek Gündem (The Real Agenda), into custody on December 28, 2023 according to news reports. The next day, he…