UK / Europe & Central Asia

New York, June 24, 2024— The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes reports that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be freed from prison in a plea deal with the United States Justice Department. “Julian Assange faced a prosecution that had grave implications for journalists and press freedom worldwide,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “While we welcome the…

The Committee to Protect Journalists and nine other organizations representing news media titles, journalists, and campaign groups, urged U.K. authorities on Tuesday to urgently repeal Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which could force publishers to pay the costs of people who sue them — even if the outlet wins. Section 40,…

Washington, D.C., May 20, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the U.K. High Court’s Monday decision to allow WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to appeal his extradition case. “We are heartened that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be allowed to appeal his extradition to the United States,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg, in New York. “Assange’s…

The Committee to Protect Journalists led a coalition of civil society organizations urging the United States Department of Justice to drop charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is currently being held in the U.K. pending a hearing on May 20 that could determine whether Assange is extradited to the U.S. In 2019, U.S. prosecutors…

Washington, D.C., March 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the British High Court’s Tuesday ruling, which could allow Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to contest his extradition to the United States. According to the court’s decision, the U.S. government has three weeks to give assurances that Assange will be able to rely on First Amendment…

The Committee to Protect Journalists and more than 100 journalists and media leaders sent an open letter to senior British police officers and lawmakers on Friday, International Women’s Day, calling on them to break the cycle of online violence and abuse against women working in journalism, which risks sidelining them from the profession, and to…

The Australian founder of the website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been fighting extradition to the U.S. from the U.K. since 2019 on charges that could strike a blow to press freedom globally. Here is CPJ’s briefing on the legal battle to extradite Assange, the charges he would face in the U.S., and why his prosecution…

Berlin, February 28, 2024—As a court hearing opened on Wednesday into complaints that two British journalists were targeted by UK authorities with covert surveillance, the Committee to Protect Journalists, together with four other press freedom groups, renewed their support for the investigation. The investigation stems from complaints filed by investigative journalists Trevor Birney and Barry…

Washington, D.C., February 20, 2024—As the two-day hearing of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s appeal against extradition from Britain to the United States opened in London on Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists warned that extraditing Assange would set a dangerous precedent for media freedom. “Assange’s lengthy legal battle could come to an end if the…