Europe & Central Asia

The International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan--a coalition of 20 press freedom organizations, including CPJ--issued a joint call to the Council of Europe today to continue pressing Baku to release imprisoned journalist Eynulla Fatullayev. 

New York, March 15, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Armenia's refusal to allow four reporters with the Finnish public broadcaster YLE to enter the country, and called on the authorities today to allow the journalists to resume their work in Armenia. 

World leaders like to invoke terms such as press freedom, human rights, and the rule of law in their speeches, especially to international audience. But in post-Soviet Eurasia, such high-minded words are rarely accompanied by genuine action. A recent commentary in The Washington Post by Roza Otunbayeva, president of Kyrgyzstan, is a testament to this pattern.

New York, March 11, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Hungarian and European Union authorities to continue to modify a restrictive media law that parliament amended on Monday to comply with demands made by the European Commission--the institution mandated with monitoring the implementation of EU directives. Experts scrutinizing the law's modifications say the changes fall short of Hungary's press freedom commitments as an EU, Council of Europe, and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe member. 

Strasbourg prides itself on being the "European capital of human rights." The historic French city, located on the border with Germany, is home to the Council of Europe (CoE), a 47-member institution focused on the promotion of democracy and the rule of law. 

It is also the seat of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), whose rulings have consistently defended press freedom against abrasive judgments or abusive practices of CoE member states.

Five years after helping her leave her region due to threats, CPJ catches up with Rwandan journalist Lucie Umukundwa to learn more about her struggles to resettle in another continent, regain a foothold in journalism and continue to make an impact in Africa.

New York, March 2, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Panamanian government to allow two Spanish journalists and human rights activists who were expelled to return to the country. The journalists were covering and documenting an indigenous demonstration on Saturday when they were detained by authorities and accused of "disrupting public order" according to an official statement. 

New York, February 23, 2011--In advance of key meetings on Thursday between the European Commission and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the Committee to Protect Journalists urges European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to address Russia's record of rampant impunity in resolving the killings of journalists.