Europe & Central Asia

Berlin, September 16, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of journalists Andrei Aliaksandrau, Dzmitry Navazhylau, and Kyril Pazniak, who were among 25 prisoners freed on Wednesday by Belarus following months of U.S. diplomatic efforts. The releases followed a meeting between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and John Coale, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy…

Istanbul, September 16, 2026—Turkish authorities must immediately release freelance journalist Tuğba Tekerek and stop jailing, detaining and intimidating reporters for simply doing their jobs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.  Police in Istanbul took Tekerek into custody late on September 13 during a sweeping crackdown against the LGBTQ+ community, which saw dozens of activists…

Istanbul, September 15, 2026—Turkish authorities must release arrested journalist Selahattin Günday without delay and stop abusing the country’s laws to harass journalists and prevent them from doing their jobs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.  Günday, a former broadcast reporter for the now closed Doğan News Agency (DHA), was taken into custody by Istanbul…

London, September 8, 2026—A Russian drone strike on a building housing two TV channels in Kyiv wounded six people and seriously damaged the newsroom on Tuesday while the team was on air. Three employees were taken to hospital following the attack on the premises of We Are Ukraine and We Are Ukraine+ TV channels, according…

Berlin, September 8, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the harsh 15-year prison sentence handed down by Russian occupation authorities to retired Ukrainian journalist Iryna Levchenko on charges of “espionage,” and calls for her immediate and unconditional release. The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Regional Court said on September 4 it had sentenced Levchenko, who is 64 and…

Istanbul, September 8, 2026—Turkish authorities must immediately release arrested journalist Oya Lale Arslan and stop weaponizing the law against independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday.  Arslan, a freelance journalist with over 118,000 followers on X and 151,000 on YouTube where she posts under the name Lale Özan Arslan, was detained on…

London, September 7, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kazakhstan’s newly inaugurated parliament, or Kurultai, to scrap new rules that restrict journalists’ movements in the parliament building and limit their ability to question politicians. The unicameral parliament, established by a new constitution passed earlier this year, was inaugurated on August 28. The new rules,…

Valletta, September 3, 2026—Almost nine years after investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in a car bomb, Malta has still not convicted the person or people who orchestrated her horrific murder, setting a terrible precedent that will resonate across Europe.  On Wednesday, following an emotional trial that lasted 55 days and gripped the nation,…

Istanbul, September 2, 2026—Turkish authorities should immediately release journalist İrem Delice, who was arrested on August 28 on suspicion of “spreading disinformation,” and repeal the disinformation law, which is being used all too often to criminalise journalism and silence reporting in Turkey, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Delice and three other staff members from…

London, August 24, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists reiterates its call for authorities in Kyrgyzstan to withdraw criminal charges against Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, director of anti-corruption investigative outlets Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese, ahead of her retrial, which is scheduled to begin in Bishkek on Tuesday. Tajibek kyzy spent more than two years in…