Europe & Central Asia

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 43 civil society organizations on Thursday, February 9, wrote to the European Parliament to ask them to ensure that the upcoming European Media Freedom Act is as strong as possible. The draft EU law is seeking to strengthen media freedom and pluralism in EU member states. The text of…

Paris, February 8, 2023 – Belarusian authorities must immediately release journalists Andrzej Poczobut and Anastasia Sharkevich, and stop retaliating against journalists for their reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Monday, February 6, Sharkevich, who manages the Telegram channel of the independent newspaper Narodnaya Volya, appeared in a video published by a pro-government…

Paris, February 7, 2023 – Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Maria Ponomarenko and columnist Iskander Yasaveyev and stop prosecuting members of the press over their reporting and commentary on the war in Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Monday, February 6, authorities in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan Republic, arrested…

Berlin, February 7, 2023 — Dutch authorities should stop harassing, detaining, and removing journalists from protests, and allow them to cover events of public interest without police interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Since January 21, Dutch police have detained two journalists and forcibly removed another while they reported on climate protests, according…

Paris, February 3, 2023 – Russian authorities must stop their efforts to silence reporting on the country’s invasion of Ukraine and stop harassing foreign outlets covering the conflict, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On January 24, the Leninsky District Court in the western city of Vladimir summoned the Kazakhstan-based independent news website Arbat.Media…

Paris, February 2, 2023 – Ukrainian authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into recent online harassment faced by journalists at the independent news website Ukrainska Pravda, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On January 27, the outlet published a video investigation by reporter Mykhailo Tkach, which claimed that former Prime Minister Yulia…

Stockholm, February 2, 2023 – In response to news reports that Kyrgyzstan authorities ordered the independent news outlet Kloop to take down a recent article or have its website blocked for two months, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “Kyrgyzstan authorities’ attempt to censor Kloop, one of the country’s most…

Paris, January 31, 2023 – Russian and Ukrainian authorities should swiftly investigate the recent shelling of a team of journalists with Czech public broadcaster ČT24, and ensure that members of the press are not targeted while covering the war in Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On January 26, a three-member ČT24 team…

Berlin, January 30, 2023 — Albanian authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the recent attack on reporter Elvis Hila and his wife, ensure their safety, and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On January 25, an unidentified man called Hila, a reporter for the privately owned…