Europe & Central Asia

Also available in: Français Español عربي

Spotlight: Impunity Chechnya (Russia) Attacks Gender

New anti-LGBTQI+ crackdown in Chechnya

12 May 2019
Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Police in Chechnya have carried out a new round of unlawful detentions, beatings, and humiliation of men they presume to be gay or bisexual.

Attacks Ukraine

Ukrainian journalist Vadim Komarov beaten into coma

Vadim Komarov's colleagues believe that the attack was connected to his work. He frequently wrote about corruption, embezzlement of city budget funds, administrative incompetence, illegal construction and prison conditions.

‎ By Cathal Sheerin ‎ 7 May 2019

Censorship Poland Gender

Poland: Arrest over LGBTQI+ themed Virgin Mary

Human rights activist Elżbieta Podlesna was held for several hours on suspicion of offending religious beliefs after she displayed a poster of the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo.

‎ Human Rights Watch (HRW)‎10 May 2019

Turkey Censorship Free Expression & the Law

World Press Freedom Day should bring freedom for Musa Kart and his Cumhuriyet colleagues

IFEX members join the Cartoonist Rights Network International in calling for freedom for Musa Kart, recently reimprisoned with 5 colleagues from Turkish dailey Cumhuriyet.

‎ Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI)‎ 2 May 2019

Latest from Europe & Central Asia

"In the future they will apologize to our children" - Europe and Central Asia in April

‎ Cathal Sheerin for IFEX. Based on IFEX member reports

Europe & Central Asia Free Expression & the Law Gender 29 April 2019
Turkey: Two years without Wikipedia

‎ ARTICLE 19, Initiative for Freedom of Expression - Turkey, Norwegian PEN, P24 Platform for Independent Journalism, PEN International, International Press Institute (IPI)

Turkey Digital Rights Censorship 29 April 2019
Turkey: Six former 'Cumhuriyet' staff returned to jail

‎ Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Turkey Free Expression & the Law 25 April 2019
Rights groups urge Putin not to sign Russia's "Sovereign Internet Bill"

‎ Human Rights Watch (HRW), ARTICLE 19, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), PEN International, Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Russia Digital Rights Free Expression & the Law 24 April 2019
Turkey: Eight 'Cumhuriyet' journalists face imminent return to jail

‎ International Press Institute (IPI)

Turkey Free Expression & the Law 23 April 2019
IFEX member Erol Önderoğlu defends himself in court

‎ Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Turkey Censorship Free Expression & the Law 17 April 2019
Why is no one talking about the UK's impending "porn ban"?

‎ Index on Censorship

United Kingdom Digital Rights Censorship 14 April 2019
Extraditing Julian Assange to the US could threaten investigative journalism in the digital age

‎ Human Rights Watch (HRW)

United Kingdom Digital Rights United States Free Expression & the Law 12 April 2019
Serbia: Four sentenced to 100 years in jail for 1999 murder of journalist Slavko Curuvija

‎ South East Europe Media Organisation

Impunity Serbia 9 April 2019
UK government should proceed with care in attempting to tackle "online harms"

‎ Privacy International

United Kingdom Digital Rights Free Expression & the Law 8 April 2019
Italy's Interior Minister pursues criminal defamation suit against Roberto Saviano

‎ Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

Censorship Free Expression & the Law Italy 31 March 2019
EU Parliament passes resolution on journalists' safety

‎ European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) - INTERIM MEMBER

Europe & Central Asia Impunity Attacks 29 March 2019
A database of porn users and the 59 journalists serving 417 years on terrorism charges

‎ Cathal Sheerin for IFEX. Based on IFEX member reports

Europe & Central Asia Attacks Freedom of Assembly Gender 27 March 2019
Ahead of the elections, what are Ukraine's key human rights problems?

‎ Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Attacks Ukraine Gender 26 March 2019
Turkish courts blocked nearly 3,000 online articles in 2018

‎ Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Turkey Digital Rights Censorship 17 March 2019
Slovakia: Suspected mastermind behind Ján Kuciak murder charged

‎ International Press Institute (IPI)

Slovakia Impunity 17 March 2019
Emil Kurbedinov: A Russian target?

‎ IFEX

Russia Attacks Free Expression & the Law 16 March 2019
Svetlana Alexievich

‎ IFEX

Free Expression & the Law Belarus Gender 16 March 2019
Daphne Caruana Galizia: The voice they couldn't silence

‎ IFEX

Malta Impunity Attacks 16 March 2019
Khadija Ismayilova: The face of Azerbaijani defiance

‎ IFEX

Azerbaijan Free Expression & the Law 16 March 2019
Human rights lawyer Shukhrat Kudratov

‎ IFEX

Free Expression & the Law Tajikistan 16 March 2019
Roberto Saviano and the unacceptable price of exposing corruption

‎ IFEX

Attacks Italy 14 March 2019
Turkey needs to respect foreign media outlets' independence

‎ ARTICLE 19, Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) - INTERIM MEMBER, Human Rights Watch (HRW), International Press Institute (IPI) , Norwegian PEN, P24 Platform for Independent Journalism, PEN America, South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM)

Access to Information Turkey Free Expression & the Law 12 March 2019
Ingushetia: 3 years after attack on journalists will impunity prevail?

‎ Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Impunity Russia Chechnya (Russia) Attacks 9 March 2019
Croatian journalists stage protest against abusive lawsuits

‎ European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) - INTERIM MEMBER

Croatia Censorship Free Expression & the Law 5 March 2019
Zehra Doğan was jailed but her imagination remained free

‎ IFEX

Turkey Censorship 3 March 2019

At a glance

Europe & Central Asia

members working in this region 22

See list

Most covered free expression issues in this region

More from Europe & Central Asia

DEMOCRACY AT RISK: THREATS AND ATTACKS AGAINST MEDIA FREEDOM IN EUROPE

Annual Report 2019 by the Partner Organisations to the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists

ARTICLE 19 12 February 2019
Defamation and Insult Laws in the OSCE Region: A Comparative Study

This study examines the existence of criminal defamation and insult laws in the territory of the 57 participating States of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In doing so, it offers a broad, comparative overview of the compliance of OSCE participating States’ legislation with international standards and best practices in the field of defamation law and freedom of expression.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe 7 March 2017
Journalists caught in the middle: Protests turn violent from France to Finland

Violence against journalists in Europe increased in the second quarter of 2016, reports submitted to Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom platform show, as a government crackdown in Turkey intensified and protests turned violent in countries from France to Finland.

Index on Censorship 2 August 2016