Europe & Central Asia

New York, March 15, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the illegal foreign travel ban on at least four independent journalists in Belarus, and calls on the government of Aleksandr Lukashenko to immediately restore their freedom of movement.

New York, March 14, 2012–Azerbaijani authorities must carry out a swift investigation into the ongoing smear campaign against journalist Khadija Ismailova, ensure her safety, and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 12, 2012–The release of Turkish journalists Nedim Şener, Ahmet Şık, Muhammet Sait Çakır, and Coşkun Musluk, who are among dozens of journalists imprisoned in Turkey for alleged participation in a purported antistate plot known as Ergenekon, is a welcome development, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 8, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the threats made against Khadija Ismailova, an Azerbaijani journalist known for her investigations into high-level corruption, including secret, offshore businesses of President Ilham Aliyev’s family.   

New York, March 7, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the Turkish prime minister’s repeated use of CPJ statistics to misrepresent and undermine the serious repression faced by journalists in Turkey.

New York, March 7, 2012–Authorities in Tajikistan must immediately lift the order blocking domestic access to several news websites and Facebook, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

March 5, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that three journalists and one blogger covering opposition protests in Russia are being held without charge in a Moscow police station.