CPJ joins calls for Azerbaijan to release Khadija Ismayilova
In a statement to mark the one-year anniversary of the imprisonment of Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, Sport for Rights –a coalition of international press freedom groups that includes the Committee to Protect Journalists–called for the immediate and unconditional release of Ismayilova and all other journalists and rights activists jailed in Azerbaijan for their work. The…
CPJ joins call for Turkey to release Cumhuriyet journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined an appeal alongside 13 other international advocacy groups, calling on Turkey to release Can Dündar, editor-in-chief of the Turkish pro-opposition daily Cumhuriyet, Erdem Gül, the paper’s Ankara bureau chief, and all other journalists currently imprisoned in Turkey for their work.
Turkey arrests two Cumhuriyet journalists over weapons claims
On November 26, 2015, an Istanbul court ordered Can Dündar, chief editor of the independent daily Cumhuriyet, and Erdem Gül, the daily’s Ankara bureau chief, to be held in pre-trial detention on charges of espionage and aiding a terrorist group, according to reports. The journalists’ arrests are connected to reports published in Cumhuriyet in May…
CPJ calls on Vatican to drop charges against two Italian journalists
New York, November 23, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Vatican to drop charges against Italian journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi. The journalists are due to face a trial Tuesday over claims they pressured a source to “obtain and publish confidential information” in their respective books alleging corruption, according to a statement…
In Turkey, two journalists accused of creating terrorist propaganda with social media posts
Istanbul, November 18, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrests of two reporters from pro-Kurdish news agencies on Friday. Idris Yılmaz, of Dicle News Agency, and Vildan Atmaca, of the women’s news agency JİNHA, were detained in the Erciş district of Van, a city in eastern Turkey, according to reports.
CPJ calls on Bulgaria’s prime minister to ensure safety of Bivol journalists
Dear Prime Minister Borissov: The Committee to Protect Journalists, an international press freedom organization, is writing to alert you to the harassment of journalists at the independent news website Bivol. In recent weeks a reporter has been followed and his home was broken into, and the website’s journalists have been warned they are at risk of retaliation for their reporting.
Two editors at critical magazine Nokta arrested in Turkey for election coverage
Istanbul, November 4, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest of two editors in Istanbul Monday and calls on authorities to immediately release them. Cevheri Güven and Murat Çapan, of the privately owned weekly magazine Nokta, were arrested in their newsroom over a front-page cover on the results of Turkey’s election, according to reports.
Two British journalists convicted in Indonesia over visa violations
New York, November 3, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the conviction of British filmmakers Neil Bonner and Rebecca Prosser who, according to reports, were sentenced to two and a half month in prison in Indonesia today. The conviction represents a failure of the government to reverse its long-standing anti-media policies.
Report highlights Turkey’s troubled press freedom record
Turkish authorities should end impunity for attacks against journalists, decriminalize insult and defamation, stop harassing critical news outlets, and release imprisoned journalists, according to “Press Freedom in Turkey’s Inter-Election Period,” a report published Saturday by the Vienna-based International Press Institute. Muzaffar Suleymanov, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program researcher, contributed to the report.
CPJ calls for investigation into murder of Syrian journalists in Turkey
New York, October 30, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Turkish authorities to investigate and bring to justice the murderers of two Syrian journalists found slain in an apartment in the city of Urfa in southeastern Turkey today. Ibrahim Abd al-Qader worked as the executive director and Fares Hamadi as head of the…