Europe & Central Asia
2006
Colleagues of Anna Politkovskaya receive death threats
New York, November 28, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by death threats against two colleagues of murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The independent Moscow newspaper Novaya Gazeta said in a statement yesterday that two of its leading journalists received anonymous death threats on November 24. Deputy Editor Sergei Sokolov told the independent radio…
Government cracks down on independent and opposition media
New York, November 27, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the government closure of Azerbaijan’s oldest independent radio and television broadcaster, and the harassment of independent and opposition print media. Authorities sealed facilities and confiscated broadcast equipment on November 24 of the Azerbaijan News Service (ANS), local media reported. The closure of the Baku-based outlet…
NETHERLANDS: Two journalists jailed for not revealing sources
November 27, 2006 Posted December 13, 2006 Bart Mos, De Telegraaf Joost de Haas, De Telegraaf IMPRISONED An investigating judge in The Hague ordered the detention of Mos and de Haas for not revealing the identity of sources for a story they wrote for the Amsterdam-based independent daily De Telegraaf. On January 21, Mos and…
Two journalists held for defaming the Prophet Muhammad
New York, November 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest of two independent journalists in Azerbaijan over an article that authorities claim insulted the Prophet Muhammad. Samir Sadagatoglu, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Senet, and reporter Rafiq Tagi, were detained after publishing an article on November 1 titled “Europe and Us.” Tagi, the…
Supreme Court overturns acquittal in Klebnikov murder
New York, November 9, 2006 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the decision today by Russia’s Supreme Court to overturn the acquittal of two suspects in the assassination of Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov and order a retrial. The ruling comes six months after a jury at Moscow City Court acquitted Kazbek Dukuzov and…
Government controls on news compromise vote in Tajikistan
New York, November 3, 2006—Repression of opposition and independent news media has compromised the fairness of Monday’s presidential election, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. President Imomali Rakhmonov seeks a third, seven-year term in the balloting. “We’re greatly concerned that Tajik authorities have deprived citizens of independent and diverse sources of news at a…
Who will be Russia’s conscience?
Anna Politkovskaya was one of Russia’s greatest investigative reporters and one of the world’s leading experts on the conflict in Chechnya. At the time of her death, she was preparing to publish a story alleging that Chechnya’s Kremlin-backed prime minister, Ramzan Kadyrov, had been involved in torture.
European court rejects Kholodov case
New York, October 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disappointed that the legal battle to win justice in the case of murdered Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov has come to an end with the decision of the European Court of Human Rights not to pursue the case. Kholodov was killed 12 years ago today. The…
CPJ fears silencing of critical Web site on Chechnya
New York, October 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the closure today of a Russian nongovernmental organization which publishes an online newspaper regarded as one of the few reliable sources of news on Chechnya. The closure comes just six days after the murder in Moscow of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a fierce critic of…