Europe & Central Asia

New York, December 4, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Georgian authorities to hold police officers accountable and ensure journalists’ safety following multiple reports of least 50 journalists injured during violent police dispersals of pro-European Union demonstrations between November 28 and December 3. “The protection of journalists is a hallmark of democratic…

Berlin, December 4, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Serbian authorities to take immediate and effective steps to ensure the safety of journalists covering demonstrations after recent  physical attacks on journalists.  “We welcome Serbian authorities’ quick response to recent physical attacks on reporters covering protests and call on them to swiftly bring…

New York, November 27, 2024—Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a Wednesday press briefing that German journalists Frank Aischmann and Sven Feller were “ordered to hand in their accreditation” and leave Russian territory “in due time.” Zakharova said the move was a “symmetrical measure” to German authorities’ ban “on the presence and work”…

Istanbul, November 27, 2024—Turkish authorities should stop treating journalists like terrorists by raiding their homes and detaining them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. “Turkish authorities once more raided the homes of multiple journalists in the middle of the night, in order to portray them as dangerous criminals, and detained them without offering any…

New York, November 27, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Georgia’s Parliament to lift all restrictions on journalists’ entry into the parliament building, introduced on November 25 amid widespread protests against alleged fraud in the country’s October parliamentary elections. “At a crucial juncture in Georgia’s history, steps to restrict journalists’ access to Parliament are concerning and threaten to…

New York, November 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to immediately release Russian journalist Nika Novak, who was sentenced by a court in the far-eastern city of Chita on Tuesday to four years in prison on “confidential cooperation with a foreign organization” charges.  “Nika Novak’s four-year prison sentence handed behind closed doors in the…

New York, November 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of journalist Ediye Muslimova, in Simferopol, the capital of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, and calls on the authorities to stop harassing Crimean journalists. “Ediye Muslimova’s detention is deeply concerning in light of the continuous crackdown on journalists in Ukraine’s Crimea,” said Gulnoza Said,…

New York, November 25, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkmen authorities to end the ongoing oppression of veteran journalist Soltan Achilova, who was forcibly hospitalized and again prevented from traveling abroad to be honored as a Martin Ennals award finalist for her work documenting human rights violations in Turkmenistan. Several men in medical uniforms arrived…

The Committee to Protect Journalists and six other international press freedom organizations issued a joint statement on Friday, November 22, 2024, condemning the ongoing legal actions against journalists who exposed Greece’s Predator spyware scandal and urged Greek authorities to swiftly implement the European Union’s anti-SLAPP Directive to strengthen protections for journalists amid the growing trend…

New York, November 20, 2024—Local rights groups recorded at least four incidents of police assaulting or obstructing journalists covering a November 19 election protest in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.  Georgian opposition parties have alleged fraud and are protesting the results of the October 26 parliamentary election, in which the ruling Georgian Dream party was declared…