Europe & Central Asia

  
A composite image of a woman holding a camera, a man standing in a field, and the remains of a car after it was hit by a strike.

Strike injures 2 Iraqi Kurdish reporters in Sinjar

UPDATE: Çira TV reporter Murad Mirza died on July 11 of injuries sustained in the drone strike. He was buried on July 12 in the Girê Gewir Cemetery, according to his outlet.  Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, July 10, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkish and Iraqi authorities to investigate after a suspected Turkish strike injured two Iraqi…

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Greek reporter Frixos Drakontidis is attacked after being knocked to the ground while reporting on a fire in an Athens suburb on June 19.

Greek journalist beaten on air while reporting from Athens fire

On June 19, 2024, Frixos Drakontidis was reporting live from the scene of a fire in Varis-Koropiou, a southern suburb of the capital Athens, when an unidentified man approached him and asked him to leave the premises of a company hit by the blaze. When Drakontidis refused, saying that he was a journalist with Protothema…

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The Turkish flag flies at the Consulate General of Turkey in New York on Nov. 17, 2023. (Photo: AP/Richard Drew)

CPJ joins call for new European authorities to support media freedom in Turkey

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 18 press freedom and human rights organizations in a Tuesday statement asking the new European Commission and the new European Parliament to prioritize press freedom and freedom of speech in dealings with Turkey. The signatories asked the European authorities to “provide support, including direct financial grants, to media organizations”…

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Two police officers salute in front of a group of people.

Turkish court sentences 8 Kurdish journalists to 6 years

Istanbul, July 3, 2024—Turkish authorities should not contest the appeals of eight journalists sentenced to six years and three months in prison on Wednesday and stop prosecuting journalists with baseless claims of terrorism, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. The 4th Ankara Court of Serious Crimes convicted eight journalists on charges of membership in…

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The back of a police officer in front of a stone building.

Kosovo newspaper Insajderi threatened with injury, arson after criminal report

Berlin, July 3, 2024—Kosovo authorities should conduct a quick and thorough investigation into the threats of physical violence made against the staff of the online investigative newspaper Insajderi, bring the perpetrators to justice, and ensure the journalists’ safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. The Insajderi newsroom received around 10 phone calls from various…

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Russian journalist Timofei Ilyushin held for 2 days in Transnistria

New York, June 28, 2024—CPJ condemns the recent detention of Russian journalist Timofei Ilyushin in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria and calls on local authorities to ensure that all journalists can work freely and safely in the territory. On June 24, agents with the Ministry of State Security—the security service of Moldova’s unrecognized, Russia-backed separatist…

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Hungarian parliament

CPJ, others express solidarity with journalists, NGOs targeted by Hungary’s Russian-style Sovereignty Protection Office

Berlin, June 28, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists joined nine international press freedom and human rights organizations in expressing solidarity with NGOs Transparency International Hungary and Átlátszó, which Hungary authorities have targeted with investigations. The joint statement urged the European Commission and EU Member States to take immediate and decisive action to protect NGOs and…

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Two police officers stand in front of a police car.

North Macedonia journalist Lepa Dzhundeva threatened with sexual, physical violence

Berlin, June 28, 2024 — North Macedonian authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate the online harassment and violent threats sent to journalist Lepa Dzhundeva, bring the perpetrators to justice, and ensure her safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Dzhundeva, a reporter for privately owned channel TV 24, has received dozens of social media…

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Russia to block leading foreign media outlets in retaliation against EU

Berlin, June 26, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly condemns the Russian foreign ministry’s Tuesday decision to block access to 81 European media outlets in Russia in response to the EU’s recent ban on four pro-Kremlin media outlets.  “Russian authorities’ blocking of 81 European media outlets betrays their deep-seated fear of truthful…

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Alsu Kurmasheva, a U.S.-Russian journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) who was arrested by Russia in 2023, attends a hearing at the Sovetski court in Kazan on April 1, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Alexander Nemenov)

CPJ joins call to President Biden to designate RFE/RL’s Alsu Kurmasheva ‘wrongfully detained’ by Russia

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 17 press freedom organizations, journalists associations and rights groups on Wednesday in calling on U.S. President Joe Biden to act immediately to declare Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and an editor with the Tatar-Bashkir service of the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), as “wrongfully detained” by…

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