Europe & Central Asia

2010

  

A defiant Azerbaijan rebuffs Fatullayev appeal

New York, December 30, 2010–Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev’s motion to be freed pending his appeal of a drug conviction, the Turan news agency reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists has concluded the drug charge was falsified as a means of keeping Fatullayev in jail despite European Court of Human…

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In Belarus, more newsroom raids as crackdown continues

New York, December 29, 2010–Belarusian authorities continued their massive crackdown on critical news media on Tuesday as security agents raided offices shared by the independent weekly Nasha Niva and the Belarusian PEN Center.

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Demonstrators hold signs for jailed journalist Irina Khalip and her son. (Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin)

CPJ demands Belarus end its assault on press

New York, December 27, 2010–Belarusian authorities must immediately halt their assault on independent and pro-opposition news media, a crackdown that has led to unjust detentions, raids, and seizures, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

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A poster in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris shows French hostages Stephane Taponier (left) and Herve Ghesquiere. (Reuters/Benoit Tessier)

Cautious optimism for French reporters held in Afghanistan

On December 29, 2009, Stéphane Taponier and Hervé Ghesquière, two seasoned reporters with the French public service TV channel France 3, and their three Afghan assistants, were taken hostage in Afghanistan. One year later, a sense of cautious optimism seems to prevail in Paris. On December 20, French authorities announced that they had received a…

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Belarusian journalists Irina Khalip, left, and Natalya Radina. They are currently held by the KGB in Minsk. (AP/Sergei Grits)

Journalists held by Belarus KGB face up to 15 years in prison

New York, December 23, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the ongoing detention and potential prosecution of Belarusian journalists Natalya Radina, editor of the pro-opposition news website Charter 97, and Irina Khalip, local correspondent for the Moscow-based independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Both are considered suspects in organizing and participating in mass disorder–a charge that carries up to…

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Supporters light candles today outside prison walls in Minsk for those detained in Belarus' Sunday opposition protests. (AP/Dmitry Brushko)

Belarus arrests, sentences journalists in crackdown

New York, December 21, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the prison sentences handed down to journalists who reported on post-election protests in Belarus, and the anti-media rhetoric by President Aleksandr Lukashenko.

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Protecting yourself from denial-of-service attacks

It’s my second link to a report by Hal Roberts (and others at the Berkman Center) in as many days, but I worry that this this detailed document on denial-of-service (DOS) and hacking attacks on independent media and human rights groups might get missed in the holiday season. The news headlines in the last few…

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Riot police officers move to block thousands of opposition supporters in Belarus trying to storm the main government building to protest alleged vote-rigging in Sunday's election. (AP/Sergey Ponomarev)

Dozens of journalists beaten, arrested in Belarus crackdown

New York, December 20, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the violent government crackdown against journalists covering demonstrations in Minsk against Sunday’s flawed presidential vote won by President Aleksandr Lukashenko. Security police have arrested at least 20 journalists and beaten at least 20 more between the outbreak of rallies Sunday evening and their forcible dispersal…

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Widespread Net disruption surrounds Belarus election coverage

As I mentioned last Friday, local journalists in Belarus were preparing for targeted disruption to Internet communications during Sunday’s presidential elections. The online news site Charter ’97, which has experienced more than its fair share of denial-of-service (DOS) attacks and police raids in the past, was already warning its readers last week to use their…

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Journalist given 15 years for espionage in Transdniester

New York, December 17, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the 15-year prison sentence given to independent journalist Ernest Vardanian, who has been held on falsified espionage charges in the unrecognized separatist Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) since April. The PMR is commonly known as Transdniester, and broke away from Moldova proper in 1990.

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2010