Europe & Central Asia

On August 15, 2019, in Sulmona, central Italy, unidentified individuals burned the car of Claudio Lattanzio, a photojournalist for local daily Il Centro and collaborator with Italian news agency Ansa, according to a report by the daily.

Washington, D.C., September 10, 2019–Websites and email addresses belonging to embattled independent news agency Asia Plus in Tajikistan have been down since August 19, according to the agency and Radio Ozodi, the Tajik-language service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

Repressive governments use sophisticated digital censorship and surveillance alongside more traditional methods to silence independent media. A special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Published September 10, 2019 Eritrea is the world’s most censored country, according to a list compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The list is based on CPJ’s research into the…

Berlin, September 9, 2019 — A court in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, on September 12 will begin hearing investigative reporter Jovo Martinović’s appeal of his January conviction on charges of drug trafficking and criminal association, for which he was sentenced for 18 months in prison, according to a statement by a group of press freedom…

Washington, D.C., August 30, 2019 — Ukrainian authorities must immediately investigate the recent attack on blogger Igor Stakh, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Washington, D.C., August 28, 2019 — A Kyiv court today ruled to release Russian journalist Kirill Vyshynsky on bail while he awaits trial, according to news reports. Vyshynsky, the Kyiv bureau chief for Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, had been detained since May 2018 on treason charges, according to those reports.

Washington, D.C., August 27, 2019 — Azerbaijani authorities should immediately release journalist Ikram Rahimov and stop retaliating against reporters for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined seven other press freedom organizations in calling on the Russian authorities to end their harassment of journalists covering opposition protests in Moscow. Protests have taken place on four consecutive Saturdays in July and August after the local electoral commission’s decision to ban several opposition politicians from participating in…

Istanbul, August 21, 2019 – Turkish authorities must immediately release the seven journalists who were detained by police since August 19, as well as all journalists jailed for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On August 17, 2019, a group of men physically attacked Owen Jones, a columnist for the U.K. daily newspaper The Guardian, his employer reported.