Europe & Central Asia

  

Romanian investigative journalist Emilia Șercan targeted by smear campaign

Berlin, April 8, 2022 — Romanian authorities must conduct an independent investigation into the harassment and smear campaign against investigative journalist Emilia Șercan, investigate her claims that state officials participated in the campaign, and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Since January 18, when Șercan published an article alleging…

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Belarusian journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva facing up to 15 years in prison on treason charges

Paris, April 8, 2022 – Belarusian authorities should drop the treason charges against journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva, release her immediately, and stop charging and imprisoning members of the press over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. “By charging imprisoned journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva with treason, Belarusian authorities show how far they are willing to…

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Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov attacked with paint

New York, April 7, 2022 – Russian authorities should investigate the recent attack on journalist Dmitry Muratov and ensure that he can work without fear of harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “Russian authorities should conduct a swift and transparent investigation into today’s attack on Dmitry Muratov and bring charges against those responsible…

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CPJ condemns decision to move Jamal Khashoggi murder trial from Turkey to Saudi Arabia

New York, April 7, 2022 – In response to a decision by Turkish authorities on Thursday, April 7, to transfer the trial of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “The Turkish government’s trial of Jamal Khashoggi’s suspected killers was politicized…

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Georgia convicts 26 people over 2021 attack on journalists by anti-LGBT protesters

New York, April 7, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday welcomed Georgian authorities’ recent convictions of 26 people over their attacks on journalists during mob violence in July 2021. “We welcome the convictions of 26 people for their part in last July’s mob attack on dozens of Georgian journalists, including the brutal…

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Russian forces release Ukrainian journalist Oleksandr Gunko

Paris, April 7, 2022 – In response to Russian forces’ release of Ukrainian journalist Oleksandr Gunko, the Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday issued the following statement calling on Russian authorities to stop detaining members of the press. “Oleksandr Gunko is at least the fifth journalist to be taken captive by the Russian military. This…

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Russian prosecutor requests harsh sentences for editors of student-run magazine DOXA

Paris, April 6, 2022 — Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against four former editors of the student-run magazine DOXA and stop listing journalists from independent media outlets as foreign agents, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On April 1, at a hearing at Dorogomilovsky district court in the capital Moscow, the state…

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Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Khilyuk held by Russian forces since early March

Paris, April 6, 2022 — Russian authorities should release Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Khilyuk immediately and stop detaining members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Russian soldiers detained Khilyuk in the village of Kozarovychi, north of Kyiv, in early March, according to the Media Initiative Group for Human Rights,…

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Hungarian journalists fear Orbán will use election win to tighten grip on independent media

As Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán celebrated his landslide election win on Sunday with jubilant jibes at the European Union’s “bureaucrats in Brussels” and international media, the country’s independent journalists braced themselves for an even harsher media climate during his Fidesz party’s unprecedented fourth consecutive term in office. Orbán has systematically eroded Hungary’s independent…

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Russian soldiers detain journalist Oleksandr Gunko in southeastern Ukraine

Paris, April 4, 2022 – Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Oleksandr Gunko and stop detaining Ukrainian members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Sunday, April 3, Russian soldiers in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka searched Gunko’s home, seized his phones and electronic devices, and took him to…

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