Europe & Central Asia

New York, March 26, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the one-month suspension of pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem, and calls on the Turkish government to allow the newspaper to function. 

This combination of pictures shows a policeman beating Agence France-Presse photojournalist Patricia de Melo Moreira during a Portuguese general strike in downtown Lisbon yesterday, according to Reuters. The strikers were protesting economic austerity measures. A number of Melo's photos from the strike can be viewed on the Guardian's website.

New York, March 22, 2012--Turkish authorities must immediately dismiss the new criminal investigation against journalist Ahmet Şık and should thoroughly investigate threats made against Şık and investigative journalist Nedim Şener, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Igor Vinyavsky, editor of the independent weekly Vzglyad, was freed from a Kazakhstan prison on March 15, 2012, on the orders of an Almaty court, according to news reports. The journalist had spent two months in pretrial detention after being arrested by the KNB, Kazakhstan's security service, news reports said.

New York, March 15, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the illegal foreign travel ban on at least four independent journalists in Belarus, and calls on the government of Aleksandr Lukashenko to immediately restore their freedom of movement.

New York, March 14, 2012--Azerbaijani authorities must carry out a swift investigation into the ongoing smear campaign against journalist Khadija Ismailova, ensure her safety, and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 12, 2012--The release of Turkish journalists Nedim Şener, Ahmet Şık, Muhammet Sait Çakır, and Coşkun Musluk, who are among dozens of journalists imprisoned in Turkey for alleged participation in a purported antistate plot known as Ergenekon, is a welcome development, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 7, 2012--A reporter covering a post-election protest in Moscow suffered a concussion after being assaulted by police, the most serious of at least three attacks on journalists reporting on demonstrations on Monday, news reports said. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the assaults and calls on police to hold the assailants accountable under the law.

New York, March 7, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the Turkish prime minister's repeated use of CPJ statistics to misrepresent and undermine the serious repression faced by journalists in Turkey.

New York, March 7, 2012--Authorities in Tajikistan must immediately lift the order blocking domestic access to several news websites and Facebook, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.