; Whereas in Serbia, journalists suffer regular online harassment, smear campaigns, and physical attacks, and the 1999 killing of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija remains unpunished after those formerly convicted for his murder were acquitted, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists; Whereas in Slovakia, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more than 6 years after the brutal killing of investigative reporter Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, and despite the hitmen and intermediaries receiving lengthy prison sentences, authorities have been unable to convict the alleged mastermind; Whereas in Turkey, the Government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintains one of the world’s most repressive environments for journalists and continues its revolving door policy on detaining journalists, with at least 13 journalists in jail in retaliation for their professional work at the time of the Committee to Protect Journalists' most recent prison census, which was published on December 1, 2023; Whereas Hatice Duman, the longest imprisoned journalist in Turkey, who has been serving a life sentence on terrorism charges since April 9, 2003, told the Committee to Protect Journalists in November 2022 that she had little hope for freedom in her retrial, while her continuing retrial has not instigated any changes on the part of government authorities; Whereas in Azerbaijan, the Government of Ilham Aliyev, who secured a fifth term in an uncompetitive early presidential election in February 2024, mounted a renewed assault on independent media in recent months by detaining 10 journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, from outlets Abzas Media, Kanal 13, and Toplum TV; namely Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Vagifgizi, Mahammad Kekalov, Hafiz Babali, Elnara Gasimova, Nargiz Absalamova, Aziz Orujov, Shamo Eminov, Alasgar Mammadli, and Mushfig Jabbar, constituting a crackdown on journalists that was in part retaliation for their reporting on official corruption