Europe & Central Asia

Berlin, February 10, 2025 — Italian authorities should thoroughly investigate the targeting of the editor-in-chief of the news site Fanpage.it Francesco Cancellato’s cell phone with spyware via the WhatsApp messaging app and punish the perpetrators, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. “The attack on investigative journalist Francesco Cancellato with Paragon spyware is a serious…

New York, February 7, 2025 – In Georgia, resurgent protests demanding new elections have been met with a violent police crackdown in which authorities forcefully obstructed or assaulted more than a dozen journalists covering the demonstrations. Protests against the Georgian Dream party’s disputed October election victory and the November suspension of European Union accession talks…

New York, February 7, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Russia’s latest attack on Ukraine, which injured camera operator Pavlo Borysko, with TSN, a daily news program with the Ukrainian privately owned broadcaster 1+1, and calls on Russian and Ukrainian authorities to ensure the safety of journalists covering the war. “Three years since the beginning of Russia’s…

Berlin, February 6, 2025—Swedish authorities should quickly investigate the recent vandalistic attack on Sveriges Television’s (SVT) building in Stockholm and ensure the broadcaster’s journalists’ safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.  “CPJ is concerned by the repeated attacks on SVT, Sweden’s public broadcaster,” said Attila Mong, CPJ’s Europe representative. “This fourth attack of vandalism…

New York, February 5, 2025 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest of Shamshad Agha, chief editor of the independent news site Arqument.az, and calls on Azerbaijani authorities to release him and other jailed journalists. “Shamshad Agha’s arrest underscores a grim intent by Azerbaijani authorities to silence and further restrict the country’s small…

New York, February 4, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the two-month pretrial detention of Temirlan Yensebek, founder of the Instagram-based satirical outlet Qaznews24, on charges of inciting ethnic hatred, for which he could face seven years in jail.  “The incitement charges against Temirlan Yensebek raise concerns that he’s being targeted for his biting political…

New York, February 3, 2025—Ukraine’s domestic security service (SBU) opened a criminal case on January 28 for “disclosure of state secrets” after independent news outlet Ukrainska Pravda published statements by Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, at a closed-door parliamentary meeting. According to an unnamed source cited in the report, Budanov said that…

Berlin, February 3, 2025—Hungarian authorities should immediately drop misdemeanor charges against two journalists who were arrested in a parking lot as they waited to question Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and detained for three hours, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On January 30, police removed the independent online outlet Telex’s reporter Dániel Simor and…

Istanbul, January 31, 2025—Turkish authorities should release Halk TV’s editor-in-chief Suat Toktaş, who was arrested this week after airing an interview with an expert court witness, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.  “Suat Toktaş’ arrest and the detaining of the other Halk TV personnel is a political move by Turkish authorities to silence critical…

New York, January 30, 2025—Ukrainian military officers detained three journalists for eight hours on accusations of “illegal border crossing” on January 6 in Sudzha, a Ukrainian-controlled town in Russia’s Kursk region. The journalists — Ukrainian freelance reporter Petro Chumakov, Kurt Pelda, correspondent with Swiss media group CH Media, and freelance camera operator Josef Zehnder — had army…