Irina Khalip handed a suspended two-year prison term
New York, May 16, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s conviction and sentencing of Irina Khalip, the Minsk-based correspondent for the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, and calls on Belarusian authorities to acquit her on appeal. Today, the Zavodskoi District Court in Minsk declared Khalip guilty of “organizing and preparing activities severely disruptive of public order,” and…
The 10 Tools of Online Oppressors
The world’s worst online oppressors are using an array of tactics, some reflecting astonishing levels of sophistication, others reminiscent of old-school techniques. From China’s high-level malware attacks to Syria’s brute-force imprisonments, this may be only the dawn of online oppression. A CPJ special report by Danny O’Brien
Audio Report: The 10 Tools of Online Oppressors
In our special report, “The 10 Tools of Online Oppressors,” CPJ examines the 10 prevailing strategies of online oppression worldwide and the countries that have taken the lead in their use. In this accompanying podcast, CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney notes that these strategies range from sophisticated cyber-attacks to traditional brute-force techniques. Listen to the…
Two newspapers threatened with closure in Belarus
New York, April 29, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns attempts by the Belarusian Information Ministry to close down the opposition newspaper Narodnaya Volya and the independent newspaper Nasha Niva, and called on the ministry to stop its harassment of both publications.
Under house arrest in Belarus for not playing by the rules
It has been four long months since security forces snatched Irina Khalip, at left, from Minsk’s Independence Square while she was reporting on a protest of the flawed December 19 Belarusian presidential vote.While Khalip was giving a live account from the square to the Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy, riot police beat her and forcibly…
After deadly metro blast, Belarus cracks down on press
New York, April 26, 2011–Belarusian authorities must immediately stop harassing independent media outlets in retaliation for their critical reporting on the recent lethal bombing on the Minsk subway, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Following the blast, authorities–including the Information Ministry, the general prosecutor’s office, and the Belarusian security service (KGB)–launched a campaign of…
Belarus jails prominent journalist and adds new charge
New York, April 12, 2011–Belarusian authorities must drop politicized libel and insult charges against Andrzej Poczobut, a Grodno-based correspondent for Poland’s largest daily, Gazeta Wyborcza, and release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Reporter for Polish paper faces insult charge in Belarus
New York, March 30, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Belarusian authorities today to stop the politically motivated prosecution of Andrzej Poczobut, a prominent correspondent for Poland’s largest daily, Gazeta Wyborcza. On Monday, prosecutors in the western city of Grodno filed criminal charges against Poczobut for allegedly insulting Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in articles…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Europe and Central Asia Analysis
On the Runet, Old-School Repression Meets New By Nina Ognianova and Danny O’Brien Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has often talked about the importance of a free press and free Internet, telling reporters before his election that the Web “guarantees the independence of mass media.” He explicitly tied the two together in his first State of…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Belarus
Top Developments • Authorities wage post-election crackdown, raiding newsrooms and jailing reporters. • New Internet law requires registration of sites, tracking of user activity. Key Statistic 20: Journalists detained as government silences coverage of election protests. In a massive post-election crackdown, authorities raided news outlets and detained at least 20 journalists covering protests over a…