European Union

Berlin, October 7, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Bulgarian authorities to conduct a rigorous, thorough investigation into the killing of Viktoria Marinova, presenter and administrative director for local television channel TVN. Marinova, 30, was found dead yesterday in the Bulgarian town of Ruse, 300 km (185 miles) northeast of the capital Sofia;…

Athens police on September 22, 2018 detained three journalists from the daily newspaper Fileleftheros, for one day after Greece’s Defense Minister Panos Kammenos accused the paper of defaming him in an article that alleged mishandling of EU funds for migrant and refugee centers, the daily newspaper Ekathimerini reported.

Bulgarian police on September 13, 2018 detained Attila Biro, editor of the Romanian investigative site Rise Project, and Dimitar Stoyanov, from Bivol, a Bulgarian investigative news website, according to reports. The investigative journalists were detained near Radomir, a town about 35 km west of the capital, Sofia, Bivol reported.

The Committee to Protect Journalists wrote to Annika Ben David, Sweden’s ambassador-at-large for human rights, as part of a coalition of eight other civil society organizations.

Brussels, September 12, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the vote by members of the European Parliament in favor of a resolution against Hungary for breaching EU values, and called on the bloc to keep up pressure on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government.

Berlin, May 14, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Bulgarian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into an attack on investigative journalist Hristo Geshov, who was beaten on May 10 outside his home in the northwestern town of Cherven Bryag, and guarantee his safety.

“Being a reporter in much of the world is dangerous work. Being an investigative reporter can be deadly,” CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney told the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the Helsinki Commission, at a briefing in Washington, D.C. today.

As Hungary’s new Parliament holds its first session, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is due to form his third consecutive government after a landslide re-election a month ago, journalists critical of his power will closely monitor his words for hints of what awaits them in the next four years.

Brussels, April 23, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the appointment of Member of Parliament Pieter Omtzigt as the special rapporteur of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The rapporteur will monitor the ongoing murder investigation in Malta, examine the broader circumstances surrounding the journalist’s…

The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with seven other press freedom organizations, today sent a joint letter urging EU diplomats in Malta to monitor the ongoing trial of three suspects arrested in relation to the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.