Europe & Central Asia

  
A full Turkey membership would have a major impact on the EU domestic order and foreign standing. (Reuters/Francois Lenoir)

Turkey’s reform fatigue, the EU’s enlargement fatigue, and press freedom

“The European Commission expressed serious concern about developments in the area of rule of law and fundamental rights (in Turkey).” It is progress report season in Brussels. As every year in early October, the commissioner in charge of enlargement unveils documents that judge the progress of all candidate countries in adopting European Union (EU) laws…

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Turkey’s leaders defend press freedom record but agree to address delegation’s concerns

Ankara, October 3, 2014–In unprecedented meetings with a joint delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Press Institute, senior Turkish government officials defended their country’s press freedom record while agreeing to take steps to improve conditions for journalists. The meetings, which included President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, and Minister…

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News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, September 2014

Prominent support for #RightToReport in the Digital Age More than 2,800 people including prominent journalists Christiane Amanpour, Glenn Greenwald, and Alan Rusbridger have already signed on to CPJ’s new campaign Right to Report in the Digital Age.

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2014 International Press Freedom Awards

Honoring courage and perseverance Awardees from Burma, Iran, Russia, and South Africa New York, September 30, 2014–Four journalists from Burma, Iran, Russia, and South Africa will be honored with the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2014 International Press Freedom Awards, an annual recognition of courageous reporting. These journalists have faced imprisonment, violence, and censorship.

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‘We are journalists’: Delegation in Turkey to discuss press freedom

Reuters editor-at-large Harry Evans had a question for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: Would he be willing to meet with a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Press Institute (IPI) when it visited Turkey?

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International press freedom delegation to visit Turkey

CPJ and IPI to meet with local journalists, media experts, and government officials New York, September 25, 2014 — A joint delegation of representatives from the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Press Institute will be in Istanbul and Ankara from September 29 to October 2 to meet with local journalists, media experts, and…

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Crimean Tatar broadcaster accused of inciting extremism

New York, September 24, 2014–Kremlin-controlled authorities in Crimea should stop harassing the independent regional broadcaster ATR and allow the outlet to cover the news free from reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. ATR is the only regional broadcaster of the ethnic Crimean Tatar minority.

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Journalists investigating deaths of Russian soldiers are threatened and attacked

Journalists investigating the deaths of Russian soldiers that news reports claimed were killed during Russia’s alleged involvement in Ukraine’s conflict have been targeted in a series of attacks since late August, according to a press freedom group. Russia has denied that its soldiers were involved in the conflict, but journalists who spoke to the Committee…

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Militant group must release kidnapped British journalist

September 18, 2014, New York–The Islamic State militant group released a video today that shows John Cantlie, a British freelance journalist kidnapped in Syria in 2012, making what he said would be the first of a series of statements, according to news reports. Cantlie’s abduction in Syria nearly two years ago was not previously reported…

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A monument to Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin is painted in the colors of the Ukrainian national flag in the town of Velikaya Novoselovka in the Donetsk region. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)

Ukrainian authorities raid newsroom, bar entry to Russian journalists

New York, September 11, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s raid by Ukrainian security agents on the independent newspaper Vesti as well as moves by Ukrainian authorities to bar entry to dozens of Russian journalists and media workers.

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