Europe & Central Asia
2006
Charges dropped against 4 of 5 columnists
New York, April 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Turkish court ruling today to drop charges against four prominent newspaper columnists but deplores the decision to continue with the trial of a fifth. All five writers were charged over comments they made about an Istanbul conference last September on the killing of Armenians…
Russian reporters death prompts questions among family, colleagues
New York, April 11, 2006—Family and colleagues of Russian journalist Vagif Kochetkov, a 31-year-old who died in January from injuries suffered in an attack the month before, are raising questions about the motive for the assault and local prosecutors’ conclusion that it stemmed from a robbery, according to local press reports. Kochetkov, who died on…
Editor beaten in Kyiv
New York, April 10, 2006—Unidentified men beat Vladimir Katsman, the editor-in-chief of the Stolichniye Novosti (Capital News) publishing house, as he returned home in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 8, local and international press reported. “I definitely believe the attack was linked to my work,” Katsman told the online newspaper Gazeta Po-Kyivsky from his…
In Bulgaria, bomb explodes at home of investigative journalist
New York, April 6, 2006—An early morning explosion today rocked the Sofia apartment of Vasil Ivanov, a Nova Television investigative reporter who recently uncovered abuse of inmates in Sofia Central Prison, local and international press reports said. No injuries were reported, but the bomb caused extensive damage.
Journalist released after year in jail for anti-constitutional activity
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release by an Uzbek court of journalist Sobirdjon Yakubov who spent one year in jail on subversion charges. A court in the capital Tashkent freed Yakubov, a reporter for the state-run weekly newspaper Hurriyat (Liberty), on Monday for lack of evidence against him, the…
Journalist arrested in case stemming from Chechnya coverage
New York, April 3, 2006—Moscow police have arrested journalist Boris Stomakhin after he failed to appear for a June 2004 trial on criminal charges of inciting inter-ethnic hatred in news reports about the war in Chechnya. Stomakhin edits the independent Moscow monthly newspaper Radikalnaya Politika (Radical Politics) and contributes to the pro-independence Chechnya news Web…
U.S. journalist returns home after interrogations in Dagestan
New York, April 3, 2006—Freelance journalist Kelly McEvers left Russia today after authorities in the southern republic of Dagestan interrogated her in four prolonged sessions, confiscated her possessions, and restricted her movements last week. McEvers flew from Dagestan to Moscow on Sunday evening and departed the Russian capital on a flight to Washington, D.C., this…
Russian authorities in Dagestan detain, question U.S. journalist
New York, March 31, 2006—Authorities in the southern republic of Dagestan have interrogated U.S. journalist Kelly McEvers in four prolonged sessions this week, confiscated her possessions, and instructed her not to leave the region, she told the Committee to Protect Journalists in a telephone interview today. Police officers first detained McEvers at 4 p.m. Wednesday…
Broadcaster loses contact with two correspondents for 2nd time
New York, March 30, 2006—The Turkmen service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has lost contact with correspondents Meter Khommadov and Dzhumadurdy Ovezov for a second time this month, the broadcaster said today. Khommadov gave an interview to the service on March 23, describing the conditions of his and Ovezov’s March 7 arrest and 10-day…
Three filmmakers released from prison in breakaway region
New York, March 28, 2006—Authorities in the breakaway region of Abkhazia released three filmmakers on Saturday after detaining them for three weeks on charges of entering the self-declared republic illegally, according to local and international press reports. Abkhazian authorities handed over journalists Tea Sharia, Georgii Sokhadze and Teimuraza Eliava to Georgian authorities at a bridge…