“Átlátszó” means “transparent” in Hungarian. Since launching an independent nonprofit media outlet under that name, editor-in-chief Tamás Bodoky and his colleagues have worked hard to live up to it, publishing detailed funding reports on their website, he told CPJ in a recent interview. But that hasn’t stopped pro-government institutions from accusing Átlátszó of serving foreign…
CPJ on Wednesday, February 22, joined 33 partner organizations in a statement to the European Commission about its rule of law report, which assesses on an annual basis the media freedom environment in the member states of the EU. The statement makes concrete recommendations in advance of this year’s report, which will be published in…
Nedim Türfent knows why he spent six and a half years of his life behind bars as a convicted terrorist in Turkey. The court that sentenced him explained the verdict in official documents: Because he writes “exaggerated and disturbing news stories” about the state. After his prison term ended in November 2022, “It was…
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined a delegation in Slovakia on Tuesday marking the fifth anniversary of the murder of Slovak investigative journalist, Ján Kuciak. The organizations renewed calls for full justice for Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová who were both killed five years ago today, on 21 February 2018, and called on the…
In January, Ukrainian photojournalist Anton Skyba rushed to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine to report on a town near the front line, Chasiv Yar. He came prepared. In a phone call with CPJ, he ticked off the items in his suitcase: personal protective equipment, including a helmet and an individual first aid kit with a chest patch “for…
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined nine other international press freedom organizations in a letter to Romanian authorities on February 17, 2023, expressing deep concern over delays in the investigation into the harassment of investigative journalist Emilia Șercan. Despite earlier calls to Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă and other government officials, authorities have failed to investigate…
Skyrocketing temperatures and catastrophic flooding have hammered home the realities of climate change in Europe, making environmental coverage one of the continent’s most important beats. It’s also an increasingly dangerous one as journalists face legal and physical harassment for reporting on polluters, amid other concerns. Of course, Europe isn’t the only place where journalists find…
CPJ joined 27 human rights and press freedom organizations in a letter on Monday, February 13, 2023, calling for the U.N. Human Rights Council to establish an independent investigative mechanism in Belarus. The letter, led by the Oslo-based Human Rights House Foundation, asked the council to create such a mechanism at its next session to…
When Hong Kong journalist Matthew Leung covered a small protest in the northern English city of Manchester last October, little did he know it would become one of the biggest stories in his career—and unleash a diplomatic storm between China and Britain. His photographs, showing a group of men beating a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester…
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…