108 journalists spent New Year’s Eve in prison, according to a count by organisations affiliated to the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalism.
While the overall number of journalists detained in Europe has fallen slightly compared to last year (108 instead of 124), repression has increased considerably in certain countries, such as Azerbaijan, where the number of journalists detained has almost quadrupled, as well as in Russia, which this year has become the country that imprisons the most journalists in Europe (40 in total, in Russia and occupied Ukraine).
The EFJ and its affiliates once again call on national governments to take the necessary measures to guarantee press freedom in Europe and to ensure the safety of journalists. Legal standards exist and so do good practices. But very few states implement them.
“There are almost as many journalists imprisoned in Europe as in China and Iran combined,” said EFJ President Maja Sever. “The recent wave of arrests of independent journalists in Azerbaijan is designed to intimidate all journalists working in the country. It is worrying to see Western European countries such as the United Kingdom adopting the same practices. We demand the immediate release of journalists imprisoned just for doing their job!”
In particular, the EFJ calls on the member states of the Council of Europe to implement without delay the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation 2016/4 on the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists. The adoption of national plans related to this Recommendation is now a priority.
Here is the list of 108 journalists detained in Europe:
Katsiaryna Andreeva
Ihar Losik
Kseniya Lutskina
Andrei Aliaksandrau
Dzianis Ivashyn
Andrej Pachobut
Maryna Zolatava
Liudmila Chekina
Valerija Kastsiugova
Iryna Leushyna
Dzmitryi Navazhylau
Henadz Mazheika
Iryna Slaunikava
Andrei Kuznechyk
Siarhei Satsuk
Yuryi Hantsarevich
Dzmitryi Luksha
Kanstantsin Zalatykh
Ales Liubianchuk
Yuryi Hladchuk
Ivan Murauyou
Pavel Mazheika
Yauhen Merkis
Dzmitry Semchanka
Andrei Famin
Larysa Shchyrakova
Pavel Padabed
Viachaslau Lazarau
Aliaksandr Mantsevich
Ihar Karnei
Andrei Tolchyn
Lyudmila Andenko
Abdulmumin Gadzhiev
Aleksandr Dorogov
Aleksandra Bayazitova
Aleksei Slobodenyuk
Alexander Nozdrinov
Alsu Kurmasheva
Andrei Novashov
Andrey Pyzh
Denis Shaikin
Dmitry Ivanov
Eduard Shmonin
Evan Gershkovich
Igor Kuznetsov
Ivan Safronov
Maria Ponomarenko
Mikhail Afanasyev
Roman Ivanov
Ruslan Ushakov
Sergey Mikhaylov
Vladimir Kara-Murza
Vladislav Malushenko
Yan Katelevskiy
Yevgeny Moskvin
Amet Suleymanov
Asan Akhtemov
Dmytro Khilyuk
Ernes Ametov
Iryna Danilovich
Iryna Levchenko
Marlen Asanov
Osman Arifmemetov
Remzi Bekirov
Rustem Sheikhaliev
Serhiy Tsyhipa
Server Mustafayev
Seyran Saliev
Timur Ibragimov
Victoria Roschina
Vilen Temeryanov
Vladislav Yesypenko
Aslan Gurbanov
Avaz Zeynalli
Aziz Orujov
Elnur Shukurov
Hafiz Babali
Mahammad Kekalov
Nargiz Absalamova
Nurlan Gahramanli
Osman Narimanoglu Rzayev
Polad Aslanov
Rashad Ramazanov
Rufat Muradli
Sevinc Vaqifqizi
Ulvi Hasanli
Vugar Mammadov
Abdurrahman Gök
Ali Ünal
Dicle Müftüoğlu
Erdal Süsem
Erol Zavar
Gültekin Avcı
Hatice Duman
Hidayet Karaca
Ismail Çoban
Kenan Karavil
Mahmut Gülecan
Mehmet Baransu
Murat Çapan
Mustafa Gök
Nazli Ilicak
Sami Tunca
Sedat Yılmaz
Sertan Önal
Ziya Ataman
Source: EFJ