Crimean journalist Vilen Temeryanov sentenced to 14 years in jail
New York, November 26, 2025—Russian authorities should immediately release Crimean Tatar journalist Vilen Temeryanov and end their crackdown on independent voices in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Crimea, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On November 26, the Southern District Military Court in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don convicted Temeryanov on charges of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization and preparing for a violent…
‘Life goes on without you’: Q&A with Ukrainian journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko
Captured by Russian security services and sentenced on false charges, Ukrainian journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko spent over four years in a Russian prison, enduring torture while trying to maintain his sanity and physical strength. Yesypenko, who covered Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Crimea for the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was released in June. He was first detained by Russian authorities…
Russian drone attacks German TV crew reporting in Ukraine
New York, October 29, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for a thorough investigation into a recent Russian attack in Ukraine, which wounded Ivan Zakharenko, a local producer with German media group WELT. “The Russian attack on WELT journalists, which injured Ukrainian producer Ivan Zakharenko, is yet another illustration of the extraordinary risks journalists face while…
Russian strikes on Ukraine damage 3 media outlets
New York, August 28, 2025—A massive, early morning Russian attack on Ukraine damaged the offices of at least three news outlets on August 28, 2025. In Kyiv, the offices of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and independent news outlet Ukrainska Pravda were damaged in a drone and missile attack. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, in eastern Ukraine, a drone strike damaged the office of local newspaper Mezhivsky Merydian. No media…
Serbia court rules to extradite journalist Andrey Gnyot to Belarus
Update: A Serbian appeals court announced on September 11 that it has sent the extradition case of Belarusian filmmaker Andrey Gnyot for a third review to the Belgrade Higher Court. Gnyot told CPJ on September 12 that he expects the next hearing “will not happen earlier than a month,” saying that “the most dangerous thing” about the…
Russia extends detention of RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva by 2 months
New York, December 1, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Russian court’s decision in a closed-door hearing on Friday to extend the pretrial detention of U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until February 5, 2024. “Each day Alsu Kurmasheva spends in Russian detention on absurd criminal charges is another blow to press freedom and journalists’ rights…
Russian authorities deport Kazakh journalist Vladislav Ivanenko ahead of court hearing
New York, November 14, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Russian authorities to explain why Kazakh journalist Vladislav Ivanenko was deported ahead of a court hearing over his residence permit. On November 9, police arrested Ivanenko, a journalist with the independent regional news website Properm.ru, at his home in the central Russian city of…
‘Our kids miss their mom’: Husband of journalist Alsu Kurmasheva speaks out about her detention in Russia
Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor with the Tatar-Bashkir service of U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, has been in Russian detention since October 18, when authorities in the western city of Kazan charged her with failure to register herself as a foreign agent. If found guilty, Kurmasheva faces up to…
In Georgia, poetry, a prison visit, and a pardon for Nika Gvaramia
On the road to Rustavi Prison #12, where the only journalist jailed in Georgia is still serving out his 3.5-year sentence, Sofia Liluashvili is speaking to me about poetry. Liluashvili is the wife of Georgian journalist Nika Gvaramia, who spent more than a year behind bars before a pardon by President Salome Zurabishvili led to…
‘No other option to survive’: After one year of war, Ukrainian journalists are equipped for the long haul
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…