Europe & Central Asia

New York, December 13, 2024—A Belarusian court on Friday convicted freelance reporter Ihar Karnei of “malicious disobedience to the requirements of the prison administration” and sentenced him to an additional eight months in prison. Karnei is already serving a three-year prison sentence after being convicted in March 2024 on charges of participating in an extremist…

New York, December 12, 2024—A Belarusian court in Minsk, the capital, convicted freelance reporter Volha Radzivonava of discrediting Belarus, “incitement to racial, national, religious, or other social hostility or discord,” and defaming and insulting the president of Belarus, sentencing her to four years in jail on Tuesday. “Journalist Volha Radzivonava’s four-year prison sentence is yet another example of…

The Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday joined 55 partner organizations in a joint letter to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, to ask her to act on Turkey’s temporarily shelved foreign “influence agent bill,” which introduces a vaguely defined new offense called “committing a crime against the security or political interests…

New York, December 9, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Georgian authorities to conduct a full investigation after more than a dozen masked individuals assaulted a camera crew with pro-opposition broadcaster TV Pirveli during a live December 7 broadcast covering the ongoing pro-EU protests. “The masked attack on TV Pirveli reporter Maka…

New York, December 6, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the Azerbaijani authorities’ detention of at least six journalists and media workers in the capital Baku on Friday. At around noon, independent journalist Ramin Jabrayilzade (also known as Ramin Deko) was detained at the Baku airport upon arrival from neighboring Georgia, where he was covering…

Berlin December 5, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kosovo authorities to ensure the safety of journalist Berat Buzhala, founder of the online media outlet Nacionale, following a December 2 death threat he received via Facebook messenger threatening his safety and his colleagues’. “We welcome the Kosovo authorities’ swift investigation into a death threat…

New York, December 4, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Georgian authorities to hold police officers accountable and ensure journalists’ safety following multiple reports of least 50 journalists injured during violent police dispersals of pro-European Union demonstrations between November 28 and December 3. “The protection of journalists is a hallmark of democratic…

Berlin, December 4, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Serbian authorities to take immediate and effective steps to ensure the safety of journalists covering demonstrations after recent  physical attacks on journalists.  “We welcome Serbian authorities’ quick response to recent physical attacks on reporters covering protests and call on them to swiftly bring…

New York, November 27, 2024—Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a Wednesday press briefing that German journalists Frank Aischmann and Sven Feller were “ordered to hand in their accreditation” and leave Russian territory “in due time.” Zakharova said the move was a “symmetrical measure” to German authorities’ ban “on the presence and work”…

Istanbul, November 27, 2024—Turkish authorities should stop treating journalists like terrorists by raiding their homes and detaining them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. “Turkish authorities once more raided the homes of multiple journalists in the middle of the night, in order to portray them as dangerous criminals, and detained them without offering any…