Europe & Central Asia

  

Police attack journalists with tear gas and rubber bullets at Istanbul protest

Istanbul, February 3, 2021 — Turkish authorities should immediately investigate and prosecute law enforcement officers who attacked members of the press covering recent protests in Istanbul, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, Istanbul police in the city’s Kadıköy district fired tear gas at journalists covering student protests against a new university rector, and…

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Russian police detain or harass more than 100 journalists amid January 31 pro-Navalny protests

New York, February 2, 2021 – Russian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all journalists detained during recent protests, and allow members of the press to cover political demonstrations without fear, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. During nationwide protests by supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny on January 31, as well as…

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Turkey to begin retrial of RSF representative, other press freedom advocates on terrorism charges

Istanbul, February 1, 2021 – Turkish authorities should immediately drop all charges against the journalists and press freedom advocates currently facing a second trial on trumped-up terrorism charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 3, the Thirteenth Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes is scheduled to begin hearings in the retrial of Erol…

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Russian military court to hear appeal of journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva in terrorism case

New York, February 1, 2021 – Tomorrow, the Military Court of Appeals in Vlasikha, a Russian town near Moscow, will hear journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva’s appeal of her July 2020 conviction for “justifying terrorism” in her commentary, the journalist told CPJ via messaging app. “The absurd case against journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva, who did nothing but practice…

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To police, ‘the camera is like a red cloth to a bull’: four journalists on covering Russia’s pro-Navalny protests

On January 23, Russia erupted in nationwide demonstrations against the January 17 arrest of Alexei Navalny. The opposition leader was taken into custody at a Moscow airport when he flew home after five months in Berlin, where he was undergoing medical treatment after having been poisoned. (He alleges the Russian government is responsible; Russian president…

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Russian journalist Ruslan Totrov beaten in North Ossetia

Vilnius, Lithuania, January 28, 2021 — North Ossetia authorities should investigate the attack on journalist Ruslan Totrov and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.  On January 21, two men entered Totrov’s office in Vladikavkaz, the capital of North Ossetia, and attacked the journalist while he was in a studio recording…

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Russian police detain, beat, and harass dozens of journalists covering pro-Navalny protests

New York, January 26, 2021 – Russian authorities should allow journalists to cover protests freely and without fear, and refrain from attacking or detaining members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 23, police in at least 20 cities throughout Russia detained, beat, and otherwise interfered with the work of…

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Russian authorities warn journalists, social media platforms, and news outlets ahead of pro-Navalny protests

New York, January 21, 2021 – Russian authorities should cease intimidating and harassing journalists covering protests in the country, and allow members of the press to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since yesterday, police and the country’s media regulator have issued warnings to at least four journalists, as well as to…

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Russian journalist Dmitry Timoshenko repeatedly arrested, fined over protest coverage

New York, January 19, 2021– Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Dmitry Timoshenko, drop all charges against him, and stop using the country’s court system to harass members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police in the eastern city of Khabarovsk have detained Timoshenko, a correspondent for the independent regional newspaper…

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Deportation for Iranian journalist Mohammad Mosaed ‘not on the table’ in Turkey, official says

Washington, D.C., January 19, 2021 — Iranian journalist Mohamed Mosaed has requested asylum in Turkey, his lawyer Canan Pehlivan told the Committee Protect Journalist today. CPJ is calling on Turkish authorities to conduct an expedited review of his request, as Mosaed faces imprisonment in Iran in reprisal for his journalism. Pehlivan told CPJ that Mosaed…

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