RFE/RL

New York, August 28, 2025—A massive, early morning Russian attack on Ukraine damaged the offices of at least three news outlets on August 28, 2025. In Kyiv, the offices of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and independent news outlet Ukrainska Pravda were damaged in a drone and missile attack. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, in eastern Ukraine, a drone strike damaged the office of local newspaper Mezhivsky Merydian. No media…

Editor’s note: In a deferred hearing on August 20, the court upheld Kazakh authorities’ accreditation denial and ban against seven RFE/RL journalists; the appeal of a further nine journalists remains under consideration. RFE/RL said it would appeal the verdict. New York, August 18, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Kazakh authorities to reinstate accreditation for 16 journalists with U.S. government-funded…

New York, August 13, 2025—In four years, the Taliban have annihilated Afghanistan’s independent media sector and supplanted it with their own propaganda empire and sophisticated digital bots that flood social media with pro-Taliban content. CPJ interviewed 10 Afghan journalists, inside and outside the country, who said that  independent media, which used to reach millions of…

Paris, June 23, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Ukrainian journalist Vladislav Yesypenko and Belarusian journalist Ihar Karnei, who had been unjustly detained for years by Russia and Belarus, respectively.   Russia freed Yesypenko on June 20 after he served a five-year prison sentence on charges of possessing and transporting explosives, which he denied. Karnei, detained for nearly two…

New York, June 23, 2025— Eight Azerbaijani journalists have received prison sentences ranging from 7 ½ to 15 years, as part of an ongoing series of media trials likely to obliterate independent reporting in the Caucasus nation. In a closed-door trial on Monday, columnist and peace activist Bahruz Samadov was sentenced by a court in…

Paris, June 9, 2025—Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh, who is serving a 10-year sentence in Tehran’s Evin Prison, launched a hunger strike on June 7 to protest the seizure of his essential documents, including his birth certificate, which he needs to manage his legal affairs and protect his assets abroad. Valizadeh, a former Radio Farda reporter, returned to…

New York, April 2, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) filed three amicus briefs on Friday, March 28, responding to the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and freeze congressionally-appropriated funds to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Voice…

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…

New York, November 6, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release Farid Mehralizada, an economist and journalist with U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Azerbaijani service, known locally as Radio Azadliq, who has been detained on currency smuggling charges since May. On October 30, RFE/RL issued a statement calling for…

New York, November 4, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bulgarian authorities to swiftly investigate and prosecute those who attacked or threatened at least four journalists while they were reporting on Sunday’s parliamentary elections. “Harassment and threats against journalists covering Bulgaria’s elections are deeply concerning,” said Attila Mong, CPJ’s Europe representative. “Bulgarian authorities must…