Europe & Central Asia

Berlin, June 13, 2022 – Italian authorities should stop harassing journalists and refrain from actions that could endanger the confidentiality of their sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On May 24, agents of the Italian Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate (Direzione Investigativa Antimafia) raided and searched the newsroom of public broadcaster RAI3’s investigative program “Report,”…

New York, June 8, 2022 – Russian authorities must stop their efforts to silence reporting on the country’s invasion of Ukraine, and drop all fines and penalties issued to outlets covering the conflict, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On June 3, the Kirovsky District Court in the central city of Yekaterinburg fined the…

Istanbul, June 8, 2022 – In response to multiple news reports that Turkish authorities detained several journalists in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır on Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “Turkish authorities’ arbitrary detention of at least nine journalists today marks another dark day for the press in the…

On June 3, 2022, Turkish authorities in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır detained Dicle Müftüoğlu, an editor for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya News Agency, held her until June 6, and then released her with a ban preventing her from leaving the country, according to news reports and Müftüoğlu, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview….

New York, June 3, 2022 – In response to reports about the Friday incident that killed a driver and injured two Reuters correspondents after the vehicle they were traveling in came under fire near the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are saddened by the death…

Paris, June 3, 2022 – Ahead of the imminent trials of at least five independent Belarusian journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the country’s authorities to drop the charges against them and immediately release them from jail, CPJ said Friday.   The journalists, whose trials are scheduled to begin between Monday, June 6,…

Paris, June 2, 2022 — Russian and Ukrainian authorities must ensure the safety of journalists reporting on the war in Ukraine and investigate the shelling that seriously injured Ukrainian fixer and documentarian Mykola Pastukh, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On May 28, Russian forces shelled the eastern city of Lysychansk, in the Luhansk…

Istanbul, June 2, 2022 – Turkish authorities should take concrete steps to prevent police violence toward members of the press in the country after several journalists were beaten and detained while covering a recent protest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Tuesday evening, at least six journalists were detained by Istanbul police while…

Istanbul, June 1, 2022 – Turkish lawmakers must reject a proposed law aimed at combating disinformation, as it is vague and will serve as an additional tool for prosecuting journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On May 27, lawmakers from Turkey’s governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) and their ally, the Nationalist Movement…

Paris, May 31, 2022 — Russian authorities should swiftly investigate the assault of journalist Pyotr Ivanov and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Monday evening, two unidentified men attacked Ivanov, a reporter with the independent news outlet SOTA, near his apartment in the northwestern Russian city of St….