Georgian Parliament bars non-broadcast media access, amid other restrictions
New York, November 27, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Georgia’s Parliament to lift all restrictions on journalists’ entry into the parliament building, introduced on November 25 amid widespread protests against alleged fraud in the country’s October parliamentary elections. “At a crucial juncture in Georgia’s history, steps to restrict journalists’ access to Parliament are concerning and threaten to…
Russian journalist Nika Novak sentenced to 4 years in prison
New York, November 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to immediately release Russian journalist Nika Novak, who was sentenced by a court in the far-eastern city of Chita on Tuesday to four years in prison on “confidential cooperation with a foreign organization” charges. “Nika Novak’s four-year prison sentence handed behind closed doors in the…
Russia detains Crimean journalist Ediye Muslimova for 36 hours
New York, November 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of journalist Ediye Muslimova, in Simferopol, the capital of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, and calls on the authorities to stop harassing Crimean journalists. “Ediye Muslimova’s detention is deeply concerning in light of the continuous crackdown on journalists in Ukraine’s Crimea,” said Gulnoza Said,…
Turkmen journalist Soltan Achilova forcibly hospitalized, prevented from traveling abroad
New York, November 25, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkmen authorities to end the ongoing oppression of veteran journalist Soltan Achilova, who was forcibly hospitalized and again prevented from traveling abroad to be honored as a Martin Ennals award finalist for her work documenting human rights violations in Turkmenistan. Several men in medical uniforms arrived…
CPJ, others condemn abusive lawsuits against Greek journalists who exposed spyware scandal
The Committee to Protect Journalists and six other international press freedom organizations issued a joint statement on Friday, November 22, 2024, condemning the ongoing legal actions against journalists who exposed Greece’s Predator spyware scandal and urged Greek authorities to swiftly implement the European Union’s anti-SLAPP Directive to strengthen protections for journalists amid the growing trend…
Georgian police obstruct, detain journalists covering election protests
New York, November 20, 2024—Local rights groups recorded at least four incidents of police assaulting or obstructing journalists covering a November 19 election protest in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Georgian opposition parties have alleged fraud and are protesting the results of the October 26 parliamentary election, in which the ruling Georgian Dream party was declared…
CPJ details Kyrgyzstan’s media crackdown ahead of UN human rights review
The Committee to Protect Journalists has submitted a report on the state of press freedom and journalist safety in Kyrgyzstan to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of its 2025 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session. CPJ’s submission, together with Austria-based human rights group Freedom for Eurasia and the Free Russia Foundation, highlights the sharp…
Italian investigative team receives death threat referencing Charlie Hebdo attack
Berlin, November 15, 2024—The editorial team of the investigative television program “Report” on Italian public broadcaster RAI3 received a death threat via social media on Tuesday, November 12, saying the team “deserved it, Charlie Hebdo editorial team style,” following their reporting on the Israel-Gaza war. The message referenced a 2015 terrorist attack targeting the offices…
Journalist attacked by business owner, security guards in Montenegro
Berlin, November 14, 2024—A local business owner and his security guards insulted and attacked journalist Ana Raičković after following her and her family to their car outside a restaurant in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, on Sunday, November 10. One man grabbed Raičković, editor for online newspaper Pobjeda, by her throat and threatened her and…
CPJ joins call for Turkey to release arrested journalist Furkan Karabay
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined six other press freedom and free-speech advocacy organizations in a Wednesday, November 13, statement asking Turkish authorities to release recently arrested journalist Furkan Karabay. Karabay, a reporter with the independent news site 10Haber, was detained on November 8 during a police raid in Istanbul and jailed by a court…