Self-Restraint vs. Self-Censorship
How much should journalists hold back when covering terrorism in Europe? By Jean-Paul Marthoz European journalists are on edge. Since the brutal execution of eight colleagues at the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on January 7, 2015, they have become acutely aware that they are in the firing line of extremists.
Willing Accomplice
Collusion by the Turkish media compounds the country’s crisis By Andrew Finkel Turkey’s bloody, failed military coup on July 15, 2016, and the ruthless crackdown that followed are testament to the country’s escalating crisis of democracy. Though the crisis had been developing for years, with journalists and independent media outlets facing intense legal pressures from…
Chinese Import
Russia tries to emulate Beijing’s model of information control By Emily Parker Russia has embarked on an ambitious social experiment. Just a few years ago, Russians had a mostly free internet. Now Moscow is looking toward Beijing, trying to imitate the Chinese model of internet control. Yet the Kremlin will likely find that once you…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of April 23, 2017
German magazine correspondent denied credentials for ‘insulting president’ Turkish authorities denied Raphael Geiger, the Turkey, Greece, and Middle East correspondent for the German magazine Stern, an extension of his press credentials, saying he had insulted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish service of Deutsche Welle reported on April 26. Geiger, who is currently in…
Journalists detained in wake of Turkey referendum
New York, April 21, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Turkish authorities to stop jailing journalists and suppressing dissent in the wake of a referendum to change Turkey’s system of governance from parliamentary to presidential. In the past week, police arrested at least three journalists and raided the newsroom of leftist website Sendika…
Russian journalist dies after severe beating
New York, April 20, 2017– Russian federal authorities should swiftly bring to justice all those responsible for the murder of Nikolai Andrushchenko, co-founder of the weekly newspaper Novy Peterburg, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The journalist, known for his reporting on corruption and police brutality, died in a St. Petersburg hospital yesterday of…
Proposed German legislation threatens broad internet censorship
The German cabinet on April 5 approved a “Draft Law to Improve Law Enforcement in Social Networks” (Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz), ostensibly aimed at combatting disinformation and hate speech, that raises concerns about restrictions on free expression and the privatization of censorship. The law would compel social media companies to remove content or risk fines as high as…
In Macedonia, anti-press rhetoric leaves journalists feeling vulnerable
As the political crisis in Macedonia, triggered by allegations of mass surveillance by intelligence agencies, deepens the environment is increasingly unsafe for journalists who report critically on the ruling Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) and its leader, Nikola Gruevski.
Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta receives white powder in mail
New York, April 19, 2017–The independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta received an envelope containing an unidentified white powder this morning, the newspaper reported. The envelope’s only return address was “Grozny,” the capital of Chechnya, where preachers and political officials have recently threatened the newspaper for reporting on the alleged torture and detention of men suspected…