Europe & Central Asia

  
Features & Analysis
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press in Biarritz, France, on August 26, 2019, during the annual G7 Summit. (AFP/Ludovic Marin)

UN Secretary General responds to #FreeThePress campaign call to action

In a letter this week to the partners of the 2020 #FreeThePress campaign, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres emphasized that freedom of the press and the safety of journalists remains a key priority for him, stressing that, “No democracy can function without press freedom, which is the cornerstone of trust between people and their institutions,…

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Features & Analysis
A police car is seen in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on March 26, 2020. CPJ recently joined a statement calling on the region's police and politicians to thoroughly investigate threats made against journalists. (Reuters/Jason Cairnduff)

CPJ joins call condemning threats against journalists in Northern Ireland

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 20 free expression groups, activist organizations, and journalists in a joint statement condemning recent threats against journalists working for the Sunday Life and Sunday World newspapers in Northern Ireland.

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Features & Analysis
The European Commission headquarters is seen in Brussels, Belgium, on April 23, 2020. CPJ recently joined a joint letter to the EU calling for reform of the group's defamation law. (Reuters/Johanna Geron)

CPJ joins call for reform of EU defamation law

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 25 other press freedom organizations today in sending a joint letter to the European Commission calling for reforms to European Union law on defamation.

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Features & Analysis
A National Guard officer is seen in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on March 26, 2020. CPJ recently spoke with several people close to imprisoned journalists in Europe and Central Asia about the challenges of observing Ramadan behind bars. (AFP/Vyacheslav Oseledko)

COVID-19 lockdowns pose challenges for imprisoned journalists observing Ramadan

This year, the Islamic month of Ramadan, which started on April 24 and will continue through May 23, is particularly challenging for Muslim journalists in jail to observe safely, their family members and friends told CPJ.

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Features & Analysis
Law enforcement officers are seen in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on March 26, 2020. CPJ recently joined a letter expressing concern over media restrictions in the country. (Reuters/Vladimir Pirogov)

CPJ joins letter expressing concern about Kyrgyzstan media restrictions during pandemic

CPJ and 23 other members of IFEX, a global network of free expression organizations, sent a letter yesterday expressing concern over the press freedom implications of Kyrgyzstan’s COVID-19 state of emergency, which has been in place since March 22.

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Features & Analysis
Russian journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva spoke with CPJ about facing terrorism charges for her reporting. (Artiom Avanesov)

Russian journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva says charges against her are ‘an act of intimidation’

In February 2019, police in Pskov, in northwestern Russia, raided the home of journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva.

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Features & Analysis
A picture taken on May 5, 2019, shows flags during the open day marking the 70th Anniversary of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. (AFP/Frederick Florin)

Council of Europe report finds attacks on journalists becoming a ‘new normal’

The Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists today published its annual report, “Hands off Press Freedom.”

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Features & Analysis
Ana Lalić, a reporter for news website Nova.rs, recently told CPJ about her arrest and detention over a COVID-19 report. (Ana Lalić)

Serbian reporter Ana Lalić on her arrest and detention over COVID-19 report

On April 1, Serbian police arrested Ana Lalić, a reporter for news website Nova.rs, just hours after she published a report on chaotic conditions in a local hospital.

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Features & Analysis
AFP photographer Diptendu Dutta works during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 in Siliguri, India, on April 10, 2020. Freelance journalists have faced risks to their lives and livelihoods amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP)

Freelance journalists risk lives and livelihoods amid COVID-19 pandemic

Johannesburg-based freelance journalist Yeshiel Panchia was on his way to cover a story about a local developer who had found a way to keep his wage laborers employed during South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown by letting them live on the construction site so that they didn’t have to leave “home” in contravention of strict rules.

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Features & Analysis
Hungarian journalist Csaba Lukács recently spoke to CPJ about the challenges of covering the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: CPJ)

Hungarian journalist Csaba Lukács on covering COVID-19 amid attacks on independent media

In 2018, a group of conservative journalists opposed to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his right-wing government launched Magyar Hang, an independent weekly magazine. Since then, government officials and their supporters have repeatedly harassed employees of the magazine, calling them “traitors” for opposing Orbán, accusing them of spreading fake news, and threatening them with…

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