Europe & Central Asia

JULY 18, 2005
Posted: August 2, 2005

Erkin Yakubjanov, International Media Support
IMPRISONED

Yakubjanov was detained for 11 days without charge. Yakubjanov was taken into custody by Uzbek border guards at the Dustlik checkpoint as he tried to cross into the Uzbek side of the Ferghana Valley. Yakubjanov was traveling to Andijan to prepare a report for the radio project "Dolina Mira" (Valley of Peace), which is supported by the Danish media organization International Media Support (IMS). Border guards detained him, claiming he tried to interview them without proper accreditation, IMS representative Michael Andersen told CPJ.

Your Excellency:

The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about your regime's ongoing crackdown on independent journalists and media. Your government's actions are especially troubling in the aftermath of the May 13 unrest in the northeast city of Andijan, during which security forces opened fire on antigovernment demonstrators, killing between 500 and 1,000 civilians, according to local and international human rights organizations and eyewitness accounts.

New York, July 29, 2005—The Russian Foreign Ministry today issued a formal complaint to a U.S. diplomat, a day after the ABC News program "Nightline" aired an interview with Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev, according to international news reports. Already this year, Russian authorities have pressured both Britain and Sweden after independent media in those countries aired interviews with the rebel leader.

New York, July 29, 2005—A judge in northern Tajikistan yesterday sentenced independent journalist Jumaboy Tolibov to two years in a prison colony on charges of hooliganism, illegally entering a residence, and abusing his office as a local government administrator, according to local and international reports. The defense intends to appeal the verdict.

Nuriddin Karshiboyev, head of the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan (NANSMIT), told CPJ that his group believes the charges were fabricated as retaliation for three published commentaries last year in which Tolibov criticized Ayni district prosecutor Sabit Azamov. Karshiboyev called the imprisonment a blow to Tajik journalists' right to investigate the record of public officials.

© The Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon July 28, 2005

JULY 14, 2005
Posted: July 18, 2005

B92
THREATENED

An anonymous caller told a security guard at the Belgrade-based independent radio and television station that a bomb would explode in an hour inside the station's offices because of its "anti-Serb campaign," according to local news reports and CPJ interviews.

New York, July 15, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a bomb threat made late Thursday night against the Belgrade-based independent radio and television station B92.

An anonymous caller told a B92 security guard that a bomb would explode in an hour inside the station's offices because of its "anti-Serb campaign," according to local news reports and CPJ interviews.

B92 director Veran Matic told CPJ in a telephone interview today that about 15 staffers were evacuated from the premises for about two hours while the police examined the building and its surroundings. No explosive devices were found.

CPJ Update July 15, 2005 News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

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New York, July 14, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for a thorough and aggressive investigation into the death of Pavel Makeev, 21, a cameraman for Puls television in the southern Russian town of Azov. Makeev's body was found alongside a road on the outskirts of the Rostov Region town on May 21, shortly after he arrived to film illegal drag-race competitions. Authorities have classified the death as a traffic accident, but colleagues believe he was killed purposely to thwart his report, according to local press reports and CPJ interviews.

e, the relatives and colleagues of journalists murdered in Russia, along with Russian and international press freedom advocates, who convened for a conference in Moscow on July 7, 2005, declare the following:

The lack of progress in investigating journalist murders undermines freedom and democracy in Russia, and demonstrates the lawlessness and impunity with which Russian and international media can be targeted.