Committee to Protect Journalists - Europe & Central Asia

Independent broadcasters harassed, taken off air in Ukraine

2009-11-20T16:27:11Z

New York, November 20, 2009—Authorities in Odessa, Ukraine, should immediately cease harassment of independent and pro-opposition broadcasters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Officials from the Odessa Public Utility Service and mayor’s office have been physically obstructing the work of several local television and radio stations on the grounds of alleged building renovation, according to local news reports.

Singapore refuses to renew foreign journalist’s visa

2009-11-19T17:30:35Z

New York, November 19, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Singapore government’s refusal to renew British freelance journalist Benjamin Bland’s work visa and its rejection of his application to cover the recently concluded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meeting. Bland had planned to report on the summit for the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Honored for their work, threatened at home

2009-11-19T17:18:54Z

CPJ introduces 2009 International Press Freedom Awardees

Washington, November 19, 2009—Naziha Réjiba, editor of the Tunisian online news journal Kalima, said she knows what to expect when she returns home—surveillance, harassment, and threats conducted by one the world’s most repressive governments.

Journalist and translator freed in Afghanistan

2009-11-12T21:28:22Z

New York, November 12, 2009—A Norwegian freelance journalist and an Afghan colleague were released Thursday after nearly a week in captivity in eastern Afghanistan, according to international news reports.

Azerbaijani bloggers receive jail sentences

2009-11-11T21:22:34Z

New York, November 11, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s prison sentences given to two video bloggers detained in July on fabricated charges of “hooliganism” and “inflicting minor bodily harm.”

CPJ urges PM Brown to investigate Farrell rescue

2009-11-05T13:05:41Z

Dear Prime Minister Brown: The Committee to Protect Journalists wishes to offer our condolences on the loss of British Parachute Regiment Cpl. John Harrison, who died in a September 9 military operation to rescue two journalists kidnapped by Taliban forces in Afghanistan. We are grateful that New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell, a British-Irish national, was safely rescued, but we’re saddened by the loss of his colleague, fellow New York Times reporter Sultan Munadi.

Albanian editor attacked following critical reports

2009-11-04T20:56:43Z

New York, November 4, 2009—Assailants badly beat Mero Baze, chief editor of the independent Albanian daily Tema and host of the prime-time television show “Faktor Plus,” at a bar in the capital, Tirana, on Monday, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attack and calls on authorities to bring the assailants to justice.

Kyrgyz reporter beaten in Osh

2009-11-03T20:13:10Z

New York, November 3, 2009—Police in Kyrgyzstan should investigate work-related motives in a weekend assault that left Kubanychbek Zholdoshev, a reporter with the government weekly Osh Shamy, with a concussion and broken ribs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Natalya Estemirova case must be solved, say CPJ, PEN

2009-10-29T13:36:00Z

President Medvedev: On the day PEN American Center and the Committee to Protect Journalists join together for a public tribute to slain independent journalist and human rights defender Natalya Estemirova, we call on you to ensure that both her assassins and those who sent them to her doorstep are brought to justice.

Kyrgyzstan must disclose findings in Alisher Saipov murder

2009-10-22T19:41:41Z

New York, October 22, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kyrgyz authorities to make public the findings of their investigation into the murder of Alisher Saipov, left, the editor of the Uzbek-language newspaper Siyosat, who was shot in Osh two years ago. Continued impunity in the killing, which occurred in early evening in the city’s downtown district, has fostered fear among his colleagues and undermined trust in the government’s ability to enforce the law.

Russian TV crew threatened, forced to leave Ingushetia

2009-10-15T21:13:47Z

New York, October 15, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns threats and an attack on a TV crew from the Moscow-based independent broadcaster REN-TV in the North Caucasian republic of Ingushetia that caused them to flee the region.

Two Azeri journalists imprisoned, a third sentenced

2009-10-09T19:17:36Z

New York, October 9, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the prison sentences given to journalists at the weekly newspaper Nota on defamation charges on Thursday.

Online journalist harassed, threatened in Moscow

2009-09-30T21:23:47Z

New York, September 30, 2009—Moscow police must immediately investigate and bring to an end a campaign of harassment orchestrated in part by a pro-Kremlin organization against online journalist Aleksandr Podrabinek, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

TV crew violently attacked at a protest rally in Ukraine

2009-09-29T20:41:02Z

New York, September 29, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the violent attack on the crew of an opposition Russian-language news channel in Odessa, and urges Ukrainian authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident.

Kazakh authorities seize embattled weekly’s print run

2009-09-18T20:08:05Z

New York, September 18, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the seizure of the print run of one of the few remaining independent newspapers in Kazakhstan, which is set to take control of a leading security and human rights organization. The country will become chair of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe in 2010.