Press Freedom in Europe at a Tipping Point, New Report Warns
A new report, “On the Tipping Point: Press Freedom 2025,” by the Council of Europe’s Platform, with contributions from PEN International, reveals increasing threats to media freedom in Europe, including legal threats, intimidation, physical attacks, and political interference.
Particularly alarming is the report’s warning about the systematic use of deprivation of liberty as a tool of media control. As of 31 December 2025, 148 journalists were imprisoned across Europe, according to the report.
The highest numbers were recorded in Azerbaijan (36), Russia (32), and Belarus (27), while Russian authorities held 26 journalists in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and others were detained in Türkiye (24), Armenia (2), and Georgia (1). The report’s findings show a troubling trend in which imprisonment is increasingly used to silence critical reporting and restrict the free flow of information.
Read the full report here: https://rm.coe.int/europe-press-freedom-report-2026-tipping-point-platform-partners-web/48802ac366.
