Europe & Central Asia

  
Police cars are seen in Kiev, Ukraine, on May 29, 2018. A journalist was recently attacked in Cherkasy and is now in a coma. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)

Ukrainian journalist in coma following assault

New York, May 7, 2019 — Ukrainian authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into an assault on freelance investigative reporter Vadym Komarov and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, as seen on June 18, 2015. An Azerbaijani journalist in exile in the United States has recently faced a harassment campaign by pro-government media in Azerbaijan. (Reuters/Stoyan Nenov)

Azerbaijani journalist Sevinc Osmanqizi faces harassment, threats to leak intimate photos

Washington, D.C., May 7, 2019 — Azerbaijani authorities should swiftly investigate the harassment and attempted extortion of exiled journalist Sevinc Osmanqizi by pro-government broadcaster Real TV, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A news kiosk in downtown Sofia, in May 2017. When CPJ traveled to Bulgaria in April 2019 it found that despite being threatened for their work, Bulgaria's investigative journalists are undeterred. (AFP/Nikolay Doychinov)

Bulgaria’s press navigate harassment, threats in pursuit of stories

In October 2018, Viktoria Marinova, a host for TVN, was raped and murdered near the station’s studios. When CPJ’s Europe correspondent, Attila Mong, spoke with her colleagues and other journalists during a trip to Bulgaria last month, they said that while they don’t believe the attack is linked to Marinova’s work, it has highlighted the…

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Workers at the site of a shooting range in Minsk, in 2018, that will be used when Belarus hosts the European Games. CPJ and Human Rights Watch are calling on the European Olympic Committees to establish a complaints hotline for journalists for the event. (Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko)

Belarus: Use Europe Games to Spur Media Freedom

Press Freedom Day Throws Spotlight on Need to Assure Safe Reporting Brussels, May 3, 2019–The European Olympic Committees (EOC) should establish a complaints hotline for journalists during the 2019 European Games, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Belarus will host the games, a multi-sport event for more than 4,000 athletes,…

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Members of the media are seen in Skopje on June 9, 2011. Two Macedonian journalists were recently harassed by local government staffers in Aračinovo. (Reuters/Ognen Teofilovski)

Journalists threatened by government staffers in North Macedonia town

On April 17, 2019, a reporter and a camera operator working for TV21, a private cable station in North Macedonia, were threatened by local government staffers in Aračinovo, a town east of the capital, Skopje, according to a report from TV21 and a statement by the Association of Journalists of North Macedonia, a local press…

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Dawn breaks over Istanbul in March 2019. A court in the Turkish city has rejected a stay of execution request from lawyers representing Cumhuriyet staff. (AFP/Yasin Akgul)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of April 28, 2019

Cumhuriyet appeal rejected by local court An Istanbul court on April 30 rejected a stay of execution request from lawyers representing eight staff from the daily Cumhuriyet, the news website T24 reported. The lawyers asked authorities to not act on a local appeals court ruling that upheld their sentencing until the Supreme Court had ruled…

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Election posters of Freedom Party candidates Heinz-Christian Strache and Harald Vilimsky are seen in Vienna, Austria, on April 26, 2019. Freedom Party members recently attempted to intimidate news anchor Armin Wolf. (Reuters/Leonhard Foeger)

Austrian news anchor Armin Wolf facing intimidation by far-right Freedom Party

Armin Wolf, a news anchor at Austrian public service broadcaster Österreicher Rundfunk (ORF), was threatened and was the subject of attempts at intimidation by several politicians from the far-right Freedom Party of Austria, a member of the country’s governing coalition, following his interview with Freedom Party General Secretary Harald Vilimsky, which aired on April 23,…

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Police detain a protester during a May Day rally in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on May 1, 2019. Two journalists were also arrested at the protest, and one was allegedly assaulted by police. (AFP/Valentin Yegorshin)

Russian police beat at least 1 journalist, arrest 2 during May Day protests in St. Petersburg

Washington, D.C., May 1, 2019 — Russian authorities should allow journalists to freely cover protests and must investigate the alleged assault by police of Timur Hadjibekov and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A view of the State Duma building in Moscow, in March 2018. CPJ and other rights groups have called on President Vladimir Putin to not approve amendments to a bill that could further limit internet and press freedom in Russia. (AFP/Vasily Maximov)

Letter calls on Putin to not approve Russia’s ‘sovereign internet’ bill

CPJ and a coalition of international human rights and press freedom organizations called on President Vladimir Putin to not approve legislative amendments known as the “bill on a sovereign internet” that could lead to further limitations on internet and media freedom in Russia.

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Police scuffle with protesters during a yellow vest demonstration in Paris on April 20, 2019. Two journalists were arrested during the protests. (AP/Francisco Seco)

Two journalists arrested covering yellow vest protests in France

On April 20, 2019, video journalists Gaspard Glanz and Alexis Kraland were arrested while covering “yellow vest” anti-government protests in Paris, according to media reports.

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