Europe & Central Asia

  
Belarusian journalists Irina Khalip, left, and Natalya Radina. They are currently held by the KGB in Minsk. (AP/Sergei Grits)

Journalists held by Belarus KGB face up to 15 years in prison

New York, December 23, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the ongoing detention and potential prosecution of Belarusian journalists Natalya Radina, editor of the pro-opposition news website Charter 97, and Irina Khalip, local correspondent for the Moscow-based independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Both are considered suspects in organizing and participating in mass disorder–a charge that carries up to…

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Supporters light candles today outside prison walls in Minsk for those detained in Belarus' Sunday opposition protests. (AP/Dmitry Brushko)

Belarus arrests, sentences journalists in crackdown

New York, December 21, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the prison sentences handed down to journalists who reported on post-election protests in Belarus, and the anti-media rhetoric by President Aleksandr Lukashenko.

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Protecting yourself from denial-of-service attacks

It’s my second link to a report by Hal Roberts (and others at the Berkman Center) in as many days, but I worry that this this detailed document on denial-of-service (DOS) and hacking attacks on independent media and human rights groups might get missed in the holiday season. The news headlines in the last few…

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Riot police officers move to block thousands of opposition supporters in Belarus trying to storm the main government building to protest alleged vote-rigging in Sunday's election. (AP/Sergey Ponomarev)

Dozens of journalists beaten, arrested in Belarus crackdown

New York, December 20, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the violent government crackdown against journalists covering demonstrations in Minsk against Sunday’s flawed presidential vote won by President Aleksandr Lukashenko. Security police have arrested at least 20 journalists and beaten at least 20 more between the outbreak of rallies Sunday evening and their forcible dispersal…

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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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