Crimean journalist faces continued harassment in jail, rights group, attorney say
Berlin, September 13, 2024—Ahead of Crimean journalist Remzi Bekirov’s next expected hearing on October 2, CPJ expressed concern at reports that Russian prison authorities are harassing him with strict scrutiny and placements in solitary confinement. Bekirov, who is an ethnic Crimean Tatar from Ukraine’s Russian-occupied region of Crimea, was a correspondent for independent Russian news…
Turkmen journalist Ruslan Myatiev banned from entering Turkey
New York, September 12, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Turkey’s July 25 denial of entry to Ruslan Myatiev, director and chief editor of Turkmen.news, a Netherlands-based independent Turkmen news website. “Journalist Ruslan Myatiev’s account that Turkey acceded to Turkmenistan’s request to ban him is a startling suggestion of Turkey’s complicity in transnational repression with…
CPJ joins call to release over a dozen journalists jailed in Azerbaijan ahead of COP29
The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Azerbaijani government to release over a dozen jailed journalists and reform the country’s deeply restrictive media laws in a letter signed by 25 organizations ahead of the United Nations Climate Conference on November 11-22, 2024, in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani authorities have charged 13 journalists over the past year for alleged violations…
CPJ joins call for Turkey to ensure safety of threatened journalist Murat Ağırel
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 22 press freedom and freedom of expression groups on Wednesday in a joint statement calling on the authorities in Turkey to ensure that journalist Murat Ağırel, who has been receiving death threats because of his reporting, remains safe. The statement listed a number of incidents in which Ağırel, a…
Azerbaijani journalist Shahla Karim forcibly detained, transferred while covering opposition candidate’s protest
New York, September 10, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for a swift investigation into the September 6 detention and transfer of Azerbaijani journalist Shahla Karim, who was released several hours later. “In yet another example of the harassment of media and lawlessness in Azerbaijan, journalist Shahla Karim was forcibly removed and transported hundreds of…
Kyrgyz authorities threaten to block 2 news outlets over report on president
New York, September 5, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kyrgyz authorities to drop their threats against two independent online news outlets over reports about President Sadyr Japarov on the grounds they contain “false information.” In a September 4 letter, Kyrgyzstan’s culture and information ministry threatened to block access to Novye Litsa in 24 hours unless it deleted an…
CPJ concerned by Kazakhstan’s restrictive new media accreditation
New York, September 3, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that recent changes to Kazakhstan’s domestic media accreditation regulations and proposed changes to foreign media accreditation could be used to silence critical journalists. “New and proposed amendments to Kazakhstan’s accreditation regulations are excessive and open too many doors to censorship. Instead of the greater…
Russia labels exiled journalist Galina Timchenko a ‘foreign agent’
New York, September 3, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces the Russian Ministry of Justice’s latest bid to intimidate the press by adding Galina Timchenko, exiled co-founder of the independent news site Meduza, to its list of so-called “foreign agents.” The ministry accused Timchenko — winner of CPJ’s 2022 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award —…
CPJ joins call urging Apple to reinstate VPNs in Russia after removals
The Committee to Protect Journalist joined 25 civil society, human rights, press freedom and tech organizations, VPN companies as well as over a dozen journalists and activists, in a September 2, 2024, open letter calling for Apple not to comply with requests and orders to remove Virtual Private Network (VPN) apps from its App Store…
Russian journalist Sergey Mikhaylov sentenced to 8 years in prison
New York, August 30, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the sentencing Friday of Russian journalist Sergey Mikhaylov to eight years in prison on “fake news” charges and calls on Russian authorities to release him immediately. “The sentencing of journalist Sergey Mikhaylov to eight years in prison on what Russian authorities label as ‘fake…