Turkish journalist Öznur Değer’s terrorism trial opens for her reports on PKK
Editor’s note: On May 22, Öznur Değer was released under a travel ban and judicial control until her next hearing on October 21. Istanbul, May 21, 2025—Turkish authorities should release Öznur Değer ahead of her trial on Thursday and stop conflating reporting on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) with publishing propaganda for the outlawed group, the Committee to…
Turkish journalist, family receive death threats after reporting on bribery allegations
Istanbul, May 19, 2025—Turkish authorities should do everything in their power to protect BirGün reporter İsmail Arı and his family after they received death threats in connection with the journalist’s May 13 report in the leftist daily on court bribery allegations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. “Turkish authorities in Ankara must take the threats made against journalist…
Turkish journalist Furkan Karabay arrested again
Istanbul, May 16, 2025—Turkish authorities should immediately release freelance court reporter Furkan Karabay, who was detained during a police raid early Thursday in Istanbul, and stop detaining journalists who are trying to report the news, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. The detention marks at least Karabay’s third in recent years. Later Thursday, an Istanbul…
Hungary’s Russian-style ‘foreign agent’ bill threatens remaining independent media
Brussels, May 15, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on European Union leaders to unequivocally and immediately condemn Hungary’s proposed “foreign agent” law, which would grant its government sweeping powers to impose restrictions on NGOs, independent media outlets and other organizations receiving foreign funding. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party introduced the bill on Tuesday in Parliament…
Belarus opens criminal cases against more than 60 journalists in exile
Documentary filmmaker Maryia Bulavinskaya’s love of history led her to buy a traditional wood home in the Belarusian village of Rogi-Iletsky in 2019. Her plans to renovate and eventually live in the house were put on hold in 2020 when she fled the country out of fear of being detained for her coverage of anti-government…
Russian journalist sentenced to 13 days administrative detention after filming anti-Putin protest
Berlin, May 9, 2025—Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Veronika Orlova, who was detained Tuesday in Moscow after filming the aftermath of a protest against President Vladimir Putin, and drop all charges against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Orlova, a reporter with the independent news outlet SOTAvision, was in Moscow to cover a…
Azerbaijan arrests 2 more journalists, increasing crackdown tally to 25
New York, May 9, 2025— After 18 months, Azerbaijan’s vast media crackdown shows no signs of abating, as police arrested two independent journalists, Ulviyya Ali and Ahmad Mammadli, on the night of May 6-7. The arrests bring the total number of journalists and media workers jailed in Azerbaijan since late 2023 to at least 25,…
Turkish Cypriot journalist threatened, source murdered after reporting on alleged government corruption
Istanbul, May 8, 2025—Authorities in Turkish occupied Northern Cyprus must do everything in their power to ensure the safety of chief editor Ayşemden Akın, who was threatened after her Turkish news site Bugün Kıbrıs published her three-part investigation into alleged government corruption, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Akın said she received a threatening phone call a…
2nd Italian investigative journalist targeted with smartphone spyware
Berlin, May 6, 2025—CPJ calls on Italian authorities to step up efforts to investigate spyware attacks against journalists at the news site Fanpage.it, as reporter Ciro Pellegrino became the second member of staff to reveal that his phone had been targeted this year. “The repeated targeting of Fanpage.it journalists suggests a pattern of surveillance aimed…
Kyrgyz authorities move to shutter Aprel TV over ‘negative’ government coverage
New York, April 24, 2025 —The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a lawsuit filed by Kyrgyz prosecutors against independent broadcaster Aprel TV, which the outlet reported on April 23, over alleged “negative” and “destructive” coverage of the government. “Kyrgyz authorities continue a deplorable pattern of shuttering news outlets on illegitimate grounds that their ‘negative’ reporting could spark…