‘We expect anything’: A Russian union leader vows to keep helping journalists facing state repression
As journalists flee Russia fearing prosecution for their coverage of the invasion of Ukraine or their affiliation with outlets deemed “foreign agents,” the country’s Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU) is trying to help them. A non-governmental trade union with some 600 active members, the group defends labor rights, provides assistance to journalists, and stands…
‘Not just statistics’: Ukrainska Pravda editor Sevgil Musaieva on the risks and challenges of covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Twice a day, Sevgil Musaieva, chief editor at Kyiv-based independent news site Ukrainska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth), checks in with her staff, now scattered around the country for security reasons as they report amid Russian missile and rocket attacks. Musaieva knows the high stakes involved in reporting the truth. Two of the outlet’s journalists were killed in retaliation for…
Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich’s parents on their efforts to find and free their son
“It felt like a horror movie.” That is how Dmitry Pratasevich describes learning that his son, Raman Pratasevich, was arrested after Belarusian authorities diverted Raman’s commercial flight from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk on May 23. Raman was the co-founder of NEXTA and the chief editor of Belarus of the Brain, two Telegram channels that rankled authorities…
