Europe & Central Asia

New York, September 2, 2011--Russia's Investigative Committee brought charges today against retired police Lt. Col. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov in connection with the 2006 murder of renowned investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, and named convicted criminal Lom-Ali Gaitukayev as an organizer of the slaying.

New York, August 31, 2011--A former general with the Ukrainian Interior Ministry testified in a Kyiv court on Tuesday that he killed journalist Georgy Gongadze in 2000 in a plot orchestrated by former President Leonid Kuchma and other top officials, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.

Spanish press associations have expressed concern about recent episodes of police violence against journalists covering demonstrations against Pope Benedict's four-day visit to Madrid and protests staged as part of the anti-corruption 15-M movement.

New York, August 24, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the detention of a new suspect in the murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya, left, who was shot in her apartment building in 2006.

The suspect, retired Lt. Col. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, is said to have formed a criminal group tasked with killing her, and the journalist's colleagues hope he can help lead to the mastermind of the slaying.

New York, August 17, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tajik prosecutors to drop the fabricated extremism charges against Urinboy Usmonov, the BBC World Service correspondent in Tajikistan, and acquit him.

New York, August 16, 2011--The Pechersky District Court in Kyiv must open to the public the ongoing trial against Aleksei Pukach, a former interior ministry general charged with the notorious 2000 killing of independent journalist Georgy Gongadze, the Committee to Protect Journalist said today. 

New York, August 11, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron's statement calling for broadcasters to immediately provide unedited footage and for measures restricting social networking as a means to stem ongoing riots in the country.

The safety advisories sent out by the International News Safety Institute on Tuesday said it all: "Bring a mobile phone with emergency numbers pre-set for speed dialling; bring eye protection such as swimming goggles; carry first-aid kits and know how to use them; wear loose, natural-fabric clothing as it will not burn as readily as synthetics; and remember there is always the possibility of gasoline bombs being detonated."

The Committee to Protect Journalists is aggrieved by reports that journalists covering the riots in London and other cities are being attacked.