Europe & Central Asia

  

UK should not deny media access based on propaganda label

CPJ writes to U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to express concern at his government’s decision to deny accreditation to Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik based on a determination that the outlets are a form of propaganda. The move empowers autocratic governments around the world who use a similar rationale to justify the repression of critical journalism.

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The Athens Voice offices are seen after being ransacked on July 4, 2019. Greek anarchist group Rouvikonas has claimed credit for the attack. (Image via Athens Voice)

Anarchist group ransacks office of Greek newspaper

Berlin, July 9, 2019 — Greek authorities must quickly and thoroughly investigate the ransacking of the offices of Greek weekly newspaper Athens Voice and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama speaks to the media outside a polling station near Tirana on June 30. A press freedom mission raised several issues with Rama last month, including unresolved attacks on journalists and draconian laws. (Reuters/Florion Goga)

Albania’s journalists tread fine line when covering organized crime, politics

The intersection of organized crime, corruption and politics in Albania is impacting the country’s press. During a joint mission by a coalition of press freedom organizations to Tirana in June, CPJ Europe Correspondent Attila Mong spoke with journalists about challenges including threats, attacks, political interference, and legal harassment.

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Kyrgyz journalist and rights advocate Azimjon Askarov is seen on January 24, 2017. CPJ recently signed on to a letter to Frederica Mogherini, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, urging for his release. (AP/Vladimir Voronin)

CPJ joins letter to EU’s Mogherini urging release of Kyrgyz journalist Askarov

CPJ joined seven other human rights and freedom of expression groups in writing a letter, made public today, calling on the government of Kyrgyzstan to release journalist and rights advocate Azimjon Askarov.

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RFE/RL journalist Barotali Nazarov recently had his press accreditation temporarily revoked in Tajikistan. (Photo: RFE/RL, used with permission)

Tajik authorities revoke press accreditation of RFE/RL reporter Barotali Nazarov

Washington, D.C., July 1, 2019 — Tajikistan authorities should immediately reinstate video journalist Barotali Nazarov’s press accreditation and cease using accreditations as a means of censorship, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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People are seen holding photos of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Valletta, Malta, on April 16, 2018. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recently passed a resolution requiring the Maltese government to launch an independent public inquiry into her killing. (AFP/Matthew Mirabelli)

CPJ welcomes resolution demanding investigation into Daphne Caruana Galizia killing

CPJ joined other press freedom and freedom of expression organizations today in welcoming a resolution condemning the lack of progress in determining responsibility for the October 16, 2017, car bomb killing of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks during a parliamentary group meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara on June 25, 2019. Two journalists are to stand trial, in separate cases, on charges of insulting the president. (AFP/Adem Altan)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 23, 2019

‘Insult’ trial for Free Journalists Initiative spokesperson Hakkı Boltan, a spokesperson for the Free Journalists Initiative (ÖGİ), is due to stand trial in Diyarbakır on charges of “insulting the president” and “insulting a public servant because of their duty,” the news website Gazete Karınca reported. The charges are related to Boltan’s public statements about President…

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CPJ and representatives from other free expression organizations meet with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on June 20, 2019, in Tirana. (Flutura Kusari)

Press freedom situation worsening in Albania, joint mission finds

Press freedom in Albania is deteriorating, the Committee to Protect Journalists and six other international press freedom and freedom of expression organizations said in a statement released yesterday.

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron hold a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 15, 2019. In the wake of a deadly terror attack in Christchurch, tech regulation in the EU and Australia risks restricting journalism. (Yoan Valat/Pool Photo via AP)

In wake of Christchurch, tech regulation in EU and Australia risks restricting journalism

Terrorism has gone viral. The livestreaming on Facebook of the March attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand that news reports said left more than 50 people dead was the latest in a string of terrorist attacks designed for the digital age. More than a dozen world leaders met in Paris last month to…

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People watch a live broadcast of a televised debate between Istanbul's mayoral candidates at a tea house in Diyarbakir on June 16, 2019. (AFP/Ilyas Akengin)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 16, 2019

Journalist turns himself in, released the same day Yavuz Selim Demirağ, a columnist for the nationalist daily Yeni Çağ who was attacked by a group of men who beat him with baseball bats in May, was released from prison under judicial control around midnight the day he turned himself in, Deutsche Welle reported on June…

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