Europe & Central Asia

On September 16, 2019, Croatian police arrested Gordan Duhaček, a reporter working for news website Index.hr, as he was about to leave the country at Zagreb airport, and detained him until a court hearing the following day, according to a report by his employer and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 12 other press freedom and freedom of expression organizations calling on the member states of the U.N. Human Rights Council to urge Turkey to end its repressive policies against independent reporting and free speech.

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 21 other press freedom and freedom of expression organizations in sending an open letter to Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric yesterday, calling on her to prioritize press freedom and the safety of journalists among the council’s 47 member states.

Washington, D.C., September 16, 2019 — Authorities in Uzbekistan must immediately release blogger Nodirbek Hojimatov and allow him to work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Washington, D.C., September 16, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over the appeal of Aleksei Pukach, a man convicted of murdering Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze. The appeal hearings began in Ukraine’s Supreme Court on September 4 and will resume on October 9, according to news reports.

Vilnius, September 13, 2019 — Russian authorities should stop harassing journalist Aleksandr Nikishin and allow him to work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined an international press freedom mission to Turkey that met with journalists, civil society, diplomats, the judiciary, and government officials. The visiting delegation voiced concern about the continued crackdown on journalists in the country and the need for the authorities to protect a free press, address inconsistencies and…

Istanbul, September 12, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed a decision by the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals to overturn a verdict by a lower court and release five former staffers of the Cumhuriyet newspaper who have been imprisoned since April.

Turkish courts opened their new judicial year on September 2, 2019, with delayed sentences of jailtime, fines, and mandatory library time for journalists, according to news reports.