Europe & Central Asia

  
Thai website editor Chiranuch Premchaiporn faces criminal charges. (AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Regulating the Internet

Legislation for Internet security can quickly turn into a weapon against the free press. Cybercrime laws are intended to extend existing penal codes to the online world, but they can easily be broadened to criminalize standard journalistic practices. By Danny O’Brien

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Attacks on the Press in 2011: Fighting Impunity

The global rate of unpunished murders remains stubbornly high at just below 90 percent. Senior officials in the most dangerous countries are finally acknowledging the problem — the first step in what will be a long, hard battle. By Elisabeth Witchel

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CPJ awardee Natalya Radina.

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Profiles in Freedom

How does one negotiate the choice to stay and report potentially dangerous news, rather than take a less risky assignment, leave the profession, or flee the country? The recipients of the 2011 International Press Freedom Awards explain. By Kristin Jones

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A journalist crouches behind a cement block during clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters in the West Bank. (Reuters/Mohamad Torokman)

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Evolution in Journalist Security

The danger of covering violent street protests has become a significant risk for journalists, alongside combat and targeted killings. Sexual assault, organized crime, and digital vulnerability are also hazards. The security industry is struggling to keep up. By Frank Smyth

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Attacks on the Press in 2011: Europe & Central Asia

Analyses and data track press freedom conditions, Jean-Paul Marthoz details the European Union’s inconsistent approach to press freedom. Nina Ognianova describs Russia’s struggles to combat impunity in journalist murders.

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Until his last days in office, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi pursued restrictive legislation known as the 'gag law.' (Reuters/Alessandro Garofalo)

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Europe, a Leader That Lags

In the EU, some countries appear more immune than others to scrutiny and reproach. Anti-terror laws, political and economic concerns, and a lack of common standards all challenge the credibility of the EU’s diplomacy. By Jean-Paul Marthoz

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Attacks on the Press in 2011: Impunity Still the Norm in Russia

Russian investigators have adopted a more serious tone when discussing unsolved journalist murders, but officials still lack the will to apprehend masterminds of the killings. The lack of convictions takes a serious toll on investigative journalism. By Nina Ognianova

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Attacks on the Press in 2011: Impunity on Trial

This video companion to Attacks on the Press details a series of journalist murders in Russia since 2000 and the government’s inability to bring justice in most of the cases. (4:57)

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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, buoyed by a landslide election victory, has led an attack on press freedom. (AP/Boris Grdanoski)

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Turkey’s Legal Problem

With the aid of anachronistic legislation and a rigid judiciary, Turkish officials and politicians have curbed free expression by subjecting journalists to endless court proceedings and legal costs. The EU and the U.S. are no help. By Robert Mahoney >> Türkçe

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Attacks on the Press in 2011: Iran’s Vast Diaspora

Journalists who have fled Iran to avoid prison face a tense and lengthy process toward resettlement, an uncertain financial and professional future, and most of all, fear that the Iranian government will catch up with them. By María Salazar-Ferro and Sheryl A. Mendez >> فارسي

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