Europe & Central Asia

Berlin, June 21, 2024—Russian authorities must release journalist Artyom Krieger, drop all charges against him, and stop persecuting the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On June 18, the Basmanny district court in the capital Moscow placed Krieger, a journalist with the independent news outlet SOTAvision, under pretrial detention for two months, news…

New York, June 20, 2024—Belarusian authorities must immediately disclose the reasons behind charges against journalist Alena Tsimashchuk, who was sentenced to five years imprisonment, and ensure that no members of the press are jailed for their work. On June 3, a court in the southwestern city of Brest convicted Tsimashchuk of discrediting Belarus, “incitement to…

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…

By Lucy Westcott/CPJ Emergencies Director Threats, repression, conflict, and unrest: across the world, these and other factors are pushing journalists into exile in record numbers. In a striking development, exiled or soon-to-be exiled journalists now make up more than half of the people CPJ assists. Between January and June 2024, CPJ provided financial support to…

New York, June 17, 2024—As a Russian court on Monday set the beginning of the trial of U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich for June 26, the Committee to Protect Journalists renewed its call to immediately release him and drop all charges against him. “The start of Gershkovich’s trial comes after he has already spent more than…

Istanbul, June 14, 2024—Turkish authorities must do everything in their power to provide security for journalist Murat Ağırel and his family to protect them from harassment and intrusions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Ağırel, a columnist for Cumhuriyet, a daily known for its critical coverage of the government, said he observed people wandering…

Berlin, June 14, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces the expulsion of Austrian journalist Maria Knips-Witting from Russia and calls on the country’s authorities to immediately reinstate the journalist’s credentials and cease turning journalists into political pawns. Russian authorities revoked the accreditation of Knips-Witting, a journalist with the Moscow bureau of public broadcaster Austrian Radio…

Stockholm, June 13, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Kyrgyz authorities to immediately drop all charges against 11 current and former Temirov Live staff, ahead of an unprecedented trial due to open on Friday, and end the harassment of the independent press. “Even as Kyrgyzstan continues its rapid descent into authoritarianism under President Sadyr Japarov,…

Istanbul, June 13, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Turkish court’s sentencing of seven people involved in the May 10, 2019, attack on columnist and TV commentator Yavuz Selim Demirağ in the capital, Ankara. The 36th Ankara Court of Serious Crimes on Tuesday, June 11, sentenced seven men to nine years in prison each…

Berlin, June 13, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the decision by a Dutch court to convict three men for the assassination of veteran crime reporter Peter R. de Vries in 2021 and calls for full justice to be delivered. “We welcome the Dutch court’s conviction of three perpetrators for the murder of crime reporter…