Bulgarian journalist attacked while covering ruling party conference
On August 5, 2020, at the conference of the ruling GERB party in Sofia, Bulgaria, an unidentified man attacked journalist Polina Paunova, a correspondent for the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, according to news reports, a video of the incident posted to Facebook, and the journalist, who communicated with CPJ via email. In…
Turkey to try 2 journalists for alleged membership in terrorist groups
Istanbul, August 31, 2020 – Turkish authorities should drop all charges against journalists Rawin Sterk and Selman Keleş, release Sterk from prison, and cease filing bogus terrorism charges against the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 2, the 34th Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes, in Çağlayan, is scheduled to begin proceedings…
Russian journalist David Frenkel’s car vandalized following June attack at voting station
New York, August 31, 2020 – Russian authorities must conduct a full and thorough investigation into the vandalizing of journalist David Frenkel’s car, and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Between the night of August 26 and the early hours of August 27, unidentified attackers slashed all four tires…
Belarus strips journalists working for foreign outlets of accreditation
New York, August 29, 2020—Authorities in Belarus today withdrew accreditation from at least 17 journalists who had been covering post-election protests for foreign media outlets, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists and news reports. The journalists included local and Russian journalists working for outlets such as the British Broadcasting Corporation, Reuters, The Associated Press,…
Four press freedom trends to watch amid Belarus’s antigovernment protests
The images coming out of Belarus look like scenes from a blockbuster film: A president clinging to power striding out of a helicopter holding a Kalashnikov assault rifle, while his gun-toting teenage son and heir apparent walks alongside him in a helmet and military vest; the protesters calling for the president’s removal singing songs, playing music, and taking off their…
Russian journalists imprisoned, beaten during arrests and detention
New York, August 25, 2020 – Russian authorities must immediately release journalists Aleksandr Dorogov and Yan Katelevskiy, drop all charges against them, and ensure that members of the press can work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In the early hours of July 29, police in the village of Mosrentgen, near…
Turkish journalist Erkan Akkuş arrested after 4 years in hiding
Istanbul, August 25, 2020 – Turkish authorities should release journalist Erkan Akkuş immediately and cease jailing members of the press for their work and political commentary, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 22, police in the western province of Kocaeli detained Akkuş, former news editor and anchor for the now-shuttered Bugün TV…
Belarusian photographer Tatsiana Tkachova quit her state-owned newspaper when it failed to cover violence against protesters
As anti-government protests continue to engulf Belarus after the August 9, 2020 election, there’s a revolt brewing inside some state media outlets, where journalists are striking and quitting over what they see as their employers’ failure to accurately cover the protest movement and the government’s harsh response. Thousands of people have been detained at the demonstrations including…
Demonstrators attack, obstruct journalists covering protests against COVID-19 lockdown in Germany
Since mid-July, 2020, German protesters against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions have attacked journalists covering their demonstrations, according to news reports and videos of the incidents shared on social media. On July 17, at a protest in the town of Weiden, Bavaria, protesters harassed Beate Josefine Luber, a local freelance reporter covering the demonstrations for regional…
Serbian journalist Jeton Ismaili’s family threatened during break-in
Berlin, August 19, 2020 — Serbian authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate threats made to journalist Jeton Ismaili and his family, and ensure their safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 2 p.m. on August 13, in Veliki Trnovac, southern Serbia, two men broke into Ismaili’s house and, finding only his wife…