Europe & Central Asia

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 13 other press freedom and human rights organizations on Thursday in criticizing the European Commission’s 2024 Rule of Law Report on Greece for downplaying the deteriorating state of the rule of law in Greece at a time when media freedom faces dire threats. The EU’s annual assessment ignores the…

New York, August 1, 2024–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) editor Alsu Kurmasheva as part of a prisoner exchange, and calls on Russia to release other jailed journalists and stop harassing those in exile. “Evan and Alsu have been apart from their families for far…

When exiled Russian news website Meduza was hit with a flood of internet traffic in mid-April, it set off alarm bells among the staff as the deluge blocked publishing for more than four hours and briefly rendered the site inaccessible for some readers. It was the largest distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) attack in…

Berlin, July 25, 2024—Russian authorities have targeted more than a dozen exiled journalists over the last month as part of their escalating campaign of transnational repression of independent voices. Authorities sought the arrest of one exiled journalist and added two to their wanted list of suspects sought on criminal charges. More than 95,000 people are…

New York, July 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned Tuesday’s sentencing of exiled journalist and writer Mikhail Zygar to 8 ½ years in jail in absentia, on charges of spreading “fake” information about the Russian military in Ukraine, and called on Russian authorities to stop harassing journalists in exile. “The punitive sentence handed down…

New York, July 22, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns Friday’s sentencing of U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to 6½ years in prison on charges of spreading “fake” news about the Russian army. “Russia’s appalling assault on the media continues to escalate with the secret sentencing of Alsu Kurmasheva,” said CPJ Director of Advocacy and Communications Gypsy…

New York, July 19, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns as outrageous a Russian judge’s decision on Friday to jail U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich for 16 years on fabricated espionage charges.  “Russia’s decision to jail Evan Gershkovich for 16 years on sham charges is outrageous,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna. “Journalists…

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 25 partners on Friday wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling on her to make press freedom and journalist safety a priority during her second term and offering recommendations for “durable and long-lasting solutions.” “It is crunch-time for the European Commission to deliver on media freedom…

Berlin, July 18, 2024—Croatian authorities should swiftly investigate two attacks made against reporter Melita Vrsaljko in relation to her environmental reporting and take steps to ensure her safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Monday, July 15, Vrsaljko and a cameraman were filming an illegal dumpsite in Nadin village in central Croatia when…

Berlin, July 15, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday urged Russian authorities to stop the prosecution of exiled journalist Masha Gessen and immediately drop all charges against them. On July 15, the Basmanny district court in Moscow convicted Russian-American journalist and writer Masha Gessen, who uses the pronouns they/them, in absentia on charges of disseminating “fake” information…