Europe & Central Asia

  

Widespread Net disruption surrounds Belarus election coverage

As I mentioned last Friday, local journalists in Belarus were preparing for targeted disruption to Internet communications during Sunday’s presidential elections. The online news site Charter ’97, which has experienced more than its fair share of denial-of-service (DOS) attacks and police raids in the past, was already warning its readers last week to use their…

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Journalist given 15 years for espionage in Transdniester

New York, December 17, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the 15-year prison sentence given to independent journalist Ernest Vardanian, who has been held on falsified espionage charges in the unrecognized separatist Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) since April. The PMR is commonly known as Transdniester, and broke away from Moldova proper in 1990.

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Six stories: Online journalists killed in 2010

This week, CPJ published its year-end analysis of work-related fatalities among journalists. Six of the 42 victims worked online. While you can read the full statistics and our special report elsewhere, I want to highlight the stories of these six journalists who worked on the Web.

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Tajik journalist arrested on defamation, insult charges

New York, December 16, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists today denounced the imprisonment in northern Tajikistan of Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov, a reporter with the Dushanbe-based independent weekly Nuri Zindagi. Ismoilov was arrested in Sogd region on November 23, but the regional press first reported on the case on Monday. Ismoilov is currently being held in a pretrial facility in the city…

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As bombings spread, Pakistan deadliest nation

At least 42 journalists are killed in 2010 as two trends emerge. Suicide attacks and violent street protests cause an unusually high proportion of deaths. And online journalists are increasingly prominent among the victims. A CPJ special report

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Beketov, with CPJ's Kati Marton, suffered injuries so severe he lost a limb and the ability to speak. (CPJ/Nina Ognianova)

Russian court overturns Beketov defamation conviction

New York, December 10, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists is relieved that the Khimki City Court has overturned the defamation conviction of editor Mikhail Beketov, a verdict that had been condemned in Russia and abroad. 

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Belarus media harassed in run-up to presidential vote

New York, December 10, 2010–Belarusian authorities must stop harassing independent media outlets and journalists and allow them to cover the December 19 presidential elections without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Pete Hamill was among the journalists who spoke to the crowd; a mariachi band and Celtic performers took turns on stage. (James Higgins)

An uncanny alliance to benefit CPJ’s assistance program

While a first glance, The Irish-Mexican Alliance might seem like an unorthodox partnership, last night’s poetry and music fundraising event for CPJ at Connolly’s Pub near Times Square proved otherwise. 

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Valery Ivanov and Aleksei Sidorov, both of whom were killed for their paper's hard-hitting coverage. (AP/Tolyattinskoye Obozreniye/Alexei Yablokov)

CPJ seeks progress in solving Russia’s Togliatti murders

New York, December 8, 2010–Authorities with Russia’s Investigative Committee must show evidence that they are legitimately investigating the consecutive murders of two editors of the independent newspaper Tolyattinskoye Obozreniye, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Investigative Committee of Samara Region–which has jurisdiction over the cases of Valery Ivanov (killed in April 2002) and Aleksei Sidorov (killed in October 2003)–announced…

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Iran, China drive prison tally to 14-year high

Relying heavily on vague antistate charges, authorities jail 145 journalists worldwide. Eritrea, Burma, and Uzbekistan are also among the worst jailers of the press. A CPJ special report

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