Europe & Central Asia

On April 1, Serbian police arrested Ana Lalić, a reporter for news website Nova.rs, just hours after she published a report on chaotic conditions in a local hospital.

New York, April 28, 2020 – Tajikistan authorities should immediately restore access to the independent regional news website Akhbor and allow its correspondents to report without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Johannesburg-based freelance journalist Yeshiel Panchia was on his way to cover a story about a local developer who had found a way to keep his wage laborers employed during South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown by letting them live on the construction site so that they didn’t have to leave “home” in contravention of strict rules.

In the early hours of April 18, 2020, two fire bombs exploded outside the Athens offices of the Skai Media Group, which houses the daily Kathimerini newspaper and the Skai radio and TV broadcaster, according to a report by Kathimerini.

In 2018, a group of conservative journalists opposed to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his right-wing government launched Magyar Hang, an independent weekly magazine. Since then, government officials and their supporters have repeatedly harassed employees of the magazine, calling them “traitors” for opposing Orbán, accusing them of spreading fake news, and threatening them with…

Soltan Achilova is a freelance photojournalist based in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, who covers social issues for independent foreign-based media outlets including Khronika Turkmenistana.

Istanbul, April 20, 2020 — Turkish authorities should conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the shooting attack on the Kocaeli Ses newspaper, hold those responsible to account, and ensure the safety of the paper’s staff, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

CPJ and partner organizations today sent recommendations on the European Rule of Law Mechanism to Didier Reynders, the European Union’s Justice Commissioner, and Věra Jourová, Vice President for Values and Transparency.

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,…

Vilnius, Lithuania, April 15, 2020 — Russian authorities should condemn Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s threats to journalist Elena Milashina and ensure her safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.