![Members of the press who want to view the protesters of banned Pride marches are blocked by the police in Istanbul, Turkey. 18 June 2023. Mine Toz/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/turkey-pride-marches-journalists-ati-getty-768x512.jpg)
SLAPPs, Pride bans, and fewer journalists to persecute
June 2023 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/europe-eca-united-kingdom-protest-arrests-public-order-act-getty-768x512.jpg)
“Perverted movements” in Turkey, “causing public nuisance” in the UK, and a presidential pardon in Belarus
May 2023 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/europe-russia-vladimir-kara-murza-detention-discussion-wife-evgenia-press-freedom-getty-768x512.jpg)
Dismantling critical media, quashing civic activism, and World Press Freedom Day in the region
Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/europe-eca-france-pension-reform-journalists-riot-police-brutality-getty-768x511.jpg)
“Broken elbows and faces”, and following Russia’s bad example
March 2023 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/europe-eca-north-macedonia-women-protest-public-lounge-online-harassment-getty-768x511.jpg)
Tackling online abuse of women journalists, free expression during a natural disaster
February 2023 in Europe and Central Asia: A special feature on tackling online harassment of women journalists in North Macedonia plus the latest free expression news from the region, produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/europe-belarus-svetlana-sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya-husband-syarhei-prison-getty-768x511.jpg)
Bogus trials, couples behind bars, and gender self-ID
January 2023 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/europe-russia-ukraine-war-friends-separated-arrested-assaulted-criticism-kremlin-getty-768x511.jpg)
Four key stories from the year that ended, and notes on what’s ahead
From war in Ukraine to European anti-SLAPP advocacy, from crackdowns in Belarus to dangerous laws in Turkey, IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin looks into key issues in 2022 and what to look out for in 2023.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/eca-europe-turkey-riot-police-female-protest-violence-against-women-getty-768x511.jpg)
Deportation, defamation, and new threats to LGBTQI+ civic space
November 2022 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/europe-eca-nobel-peace-prize-belarus-ales-bialiatski-ukraine-russia-getty-768x511.jpg)
The anti-SLAPP movement gathers, free speech threatened ahead of Turkish elections
October 2022 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/europe-eca-serbia-europride-parade-police-lgbt-getty-768x511.jpg)
War crimes, draconian sentencing, and defending LGBTQI+ civic space
September 2022 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/europe-belarus-ukraine-russia-stop-war-protest-getty-768x511.jpg)
Two years of a hostile environment, six months of war
August 2022 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/europe-urkaine-lviv-press-memorial-reporters-killed-war-disinformation-getty-768x511.jpg)
Information integrity versus the forces of disinformation
July 2022 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/europe-eca-turkey-pride-crackdown-protest-journalists-getty-768x512.jpg)
Turkish authorities target Pride and Kurdish media; Russia’s “crimes against journalists”
June 2022 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/belarus-terrorist-bill-protest-women-feminism-maria-kalesnikova-getty-768x512.jpg)
The prospect of being shot for daring to speak out
May 2022 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/europe-turkey-protest-we-will-stop-femicide-getty-768x511.jpg)
Russia targets press and civil society at home and in Ukraine, an EU anti-SLAPP initiative, and more
April 2022 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/europe-russia-ukraine-war-protest-artist-osipova-getty-768x511.jpg)
IFEX members support Ukrainian journalists at risk, Russia imposes “total information blackout”
March 2022 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.