Europe & Central Asia

  
Berhane (Colin McConnell/Toronto Star)

CPJ’s exiled journalists survey: Behind the numbers

In 2007, my colleague Karen Phillips suggested we do something to mark World Refugee Day. Initially planning to publish a brief statement, I set about reviewing our data for background, checking in with older journalist cases about their current situation and looking broadly for trends to highlight. As the number of cases began counting into…

Read More ›

Two foreign reporters brutally assaulted in Azerbaijan

New York, June 16, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the vicious beating in Baku of international journalists Amanda Erickson and Celia Davies, and calls on the authorities to bring their attackers to justice.

Read More ›

Urinboy Umanov, left, at work in Tajikistan.(BBC World Service)

Tajikistan detains BBC correspondent on extremism charges

New York, June 16, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention and reported beating in custody of Urinboy Usmonov, a local correspondent for the BBC Central Asia service, and calls for his immediate release.

Read More ›

In Belarus, Poczobut in closed trial for ‘insulting’ leader

New York, June 14, 2011–Belarusian authorities must end the retaliatory prosecution of Andrzej Poczobut, a Grodno-based correspondent for the largest Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, and release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

Read More ›

Otunbayeva must halt persecution in Kyrgyzstan

President Otunbayeva: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by the ongoing prosecution of two media owners and the imprisonment of a reporter on charges of inciting and participating in violent ethnic conflict last year. The persecution of Khalil Khudaiberdiyev, Dzhavlon Mirzakhodzhayev, and Azimjon Askarov–all ethnic Uzbeks–tarnishes your stated commitments to press freedom and rule of law, and derails your government’s efforts to rebuild interethnic trust in a nation deeply divided by the June 2010 conflict.

Read More ›

The IFEX conference in Beirut put a focus on impunity in journalist murders. (Lidija Sabados/IFEX)

November 23 becomes International Day to End Impunity

Members from around the world of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange met in Beirut last week. On the second day of our conference, amid discussions of the daily problems journalists face, we received word of the abduction and murder of Pakistani investigative journalist Saleem Shahzad. A day later, the conference buzzed with news of…

Read More ›

Kyrgyzstan no ‘island of democracy’ as it censors the press

Kyrgyzstan is an “island of democracy” where authorities guarantee freedom of speech and reporting on protest rallies is not a crime, Kyrgyz government officials told an audience. They were speaking at a May 26 round-table discussion at the Open Society Institute in New York. CPJ vehemently disagreed. We had reported on the ongoing prosecution of…

Read More ›

The silencing crime: Sexual violence and journalists

Few cases of sexual assault against journalists have ever been documented, a product of powerful cultural and professional stigmas. But now dozens of journalists are coming forward to say they have been sexually abused in the course of their work. A CPJ special report by Lauren Wolfe

Read More ›

CPJ security guide: Addendum on sexual aggression

In conjunction with the release of its special report, “The Silencing Crime: Sexual Violence and Journalists,” CPJ is issuing an addendum to its existing journalist security guide. The addendum, written by CPJ Journalist Security Coordinator Frank Smyth, addresses the issue of sexual aggression against journalists and focuses on ways to minimize the risk.The addendum, published…

Read More ›

Audio Report: The Silencing Crime

Journalists around the world are talking more candidly about sexual abuse they’ve experienced on the job. CPJ Senior Editor Lauren Wolfe, author of the special report, “The Silencing Crime,”  describes her findings in this podcast. Listen on the player above, or right click here to download an MP3. (2:05) Read CPJ’s special report, “The Silencing…

Read More ›