Suppression of press freedom rose over the past year in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where governments with increasingly authoritarian tendencies have followed Russia's example of stifling and punishing free speech, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said.
Press Freedom Day
To mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3, RFE/RL has prepared the following stories about the plight of media in our broadcast area:
Highlighting the situation in in its annual media world ranking, published on May 3, RSF noted the worsening media situation in Belarus, where strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime persecutes reporters under the excuse of fighting “extremism”; Georgia, where the government has been pushing "foreign agent" legislation modeled on a Russian law, despite massive public protests; and in Kyrgyzstan.
"Media censorship has intensified in a spectacular mimicry of Russian repressive methods," RSF said.
Belarus dropped 10 positions to 167th in the world, while Georgia, at 103th, fell a whopping 26 places.
RSF said Russia, which ranked 162nd out of 180 countries, has continued its campaign against independent journalism, using the “foreign agent” or “undesirable” legislation to arbitrarily imprison remaining journalists as more than 1,500 have left the country since the start of the war. RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal are currently imprisoned in Russia.
Azerbaijan fell 13 places to 164th mainly due to the authorities' crackdown on the media before its presidential election, RSF said.
The report pointed to the deteriorating situation in Serbia -- down seven positions to 98th place -- as an example of the Kremlin's long reach.
Press outlets affiliated with the pro-Russian government of Serbia relayed Moscow's propaganda, while anti-war Russian journalists who found refuge in Serbia after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine are being threatened with expulsion.
RSF notes as a positive development the 18-place jump made by Ukraine due to what it says are improvements in the security and political indicators. Political interference in Ukraine has fallen, with the country being currently ranked 61st, the report said.
In Eastern Europe, the report notes a "dangerous trend" by some governments to stifle independent journalism, which RSF calls "Orbanization," after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban, in power since 2010, has been accused of muzzling the free press. Hungary is currently in 67th place.
In Slovakia, ranked 29th, the situation is also deteriorating under Russia-friendly Prime Minister Robert Fico, RSF says.
In Central Asia, Turkmenistan, where independent reporting is completely banned, is listed 175th, while Kyrgyzstan is listed 120th.
Afghanistan, where the persecution of journalists has been "incessant" since the return of the Taliban to power in 2021, three journalists were killed and at least 25 were detained over the past year. Afghanistan dropped 26 places to 178th out of a total of 180 countries in the index.