Press freedom in the Republic of Cyprus is guaranteed by the constitution.
However, political parties, the Orthodox Church and commercial interests have a
great deal of influence over the media. Journalism is also hampered by certain
bans on the use of geographical names not accepted by the state; on the denial of
genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes recognised by the state; and
the criminalisation of defamation. Alternative rhetoric, especially about the Cyprus problem, is met with intolerance
by most politicians. A voluntary glossary, prepared by two Turkish Cypriot and two
Greek Cypriot authors, of sensitive words and phrases used in the media and
published in July 2018 drew harsh criticism from Greek Cypriot politicians
including the president. There was no subsequent follow-up by authorities on the death and
rape threats received by the Greek Cypriot authors.The European Commission has expressed concern over Cyprus’ citizenship programme, which sells
passports and visas to wealthy foreigners. The commission warned that the
programme could help organised crime groups infiltrate the bloc and raise the risk
of money laundering, corruption and tax evasion.

Cyprus is a tax haven where many companies linked to Russian oligarchs have
their official headquarters. Investigative reporting on the state’s links with
Russia can lead to civil and criminal proceedings. A court order banned the
newspaper Politis from publishing hacked emails between prosecutor Eleni
Loizidou and the Russian prosecutor-general’s office. The gag order is still in
effect despite an international campaign against this press freedom violation.