Czech Republic / Europe & Central Asia

  

Intelligence official confirms Iraqi threat against RFE/RL

New York, March 26, 2003–A senior Czech intelligence official alleged today that Iraqi agents planned to carry out an attack against the Prague-based headquarters of U.S. government­funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Jiri Ruzek, director of the State Security Service (BIS), told the Czech Service of the BBC in an interview today that the purpose…

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CPJ backs investigation of plot to murder journalist

New York, July 25, 2002–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by news reports that Czech investigative reporter Sabina Slonkova was the target of a murder plot allegedly planned by Karel Srba, the former general secretary of the Czech Foreign Ministry. Srba was arrested on July 19–in addition to three others who were arrested…

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Attacks on the Press 2001: Europe & Central Asia

The exhilarating prospect of broad press freedoms that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union a decade ago has faded dramatically in much of the post-communist world. A considerable decline in press freedom conditions in Russia during the last year, along with the stranglehold authoritarian leaders have imposed on media in Central Asia, the Caucasus,…

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Attacks on the Press 2001: Czech Republic

Despite the Czech Republic’s status as a leading candidate to join the European Union, local journalists continue to face significant risks for criticizing politicians and government policies, while political interference in the media inhibits the expansion of press freedom.

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CPJ denounces threat by prime minister to bankrupt independent weekly

New York, October 24, 2001–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has denounced Prime Minister Milos Zeman for threatening to bankrupt the independent Prague-based weekly Respekt with a series of debilitating lawsuits in retaliation for its criticism of his government. Zeman announced on October 22 that his government was planning to file the suits against Respekt…

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Attacks on the Press 2000: Europe & Central Asia Analysis

POLITICAL REFORMS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, along with the advent of democratic governments in Croatia and Serbia, brightened the security prospects for journalists in Central Europe and the Balkans. In contrast, Russian’s new government imposed press restrictions, and authoritarian regimes entrenched themselves in other countries of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Central Asia, further threatening…

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Attacks on the Press 2000: Czech Republic

WHILE CZECH JOURNALISTS HAVE GAINED EXTENSIVE FREEDOMS since the 1989 Velvet Revolution, Czech media continued to face pressure from both political and business interests last year. On December 20, the politically appointed supervisors of the state-run Czech Television network abruptly dismissed general director Dusan Chmelicek and appointed Jiri Hodac in his place. Hodac had resigned…

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Attacks on the Press 1999: Europe & Central Asia Analysis

By Chrystyna Lapychak Wars in Yugoslavia and Chechnya dominated regional and international headlines in 1999. The conflicts raised the journalists’ death toll in the region and prompted crackdowns, as governments blocked access to war zones and engaged in propaganda campaigns.

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Attacks on the Press 1999: Czech Republic

The Czech Republic became a member of NATO in March and continues to look westward toward EU membership in the next few years. The country is moving steadily toward stability and respect for democratic rights, but its overall good record on press freedom was tarnished by the new government’s increasingly hostile attitude toward the press.…

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Czech Republic: Journalist faces jail for making “false accusations”

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed by the criminal prosecution of broadcast journalist Zdenek Zukal for allegedly making false accusations against public officials. If he is found guilty on all three charges filed against him, Zukal could be jailed for up to nine years.

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