Kurdish journalist given 138 years in prison in Turkey
New York, January 10, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the conviction and outlandish sentencing of Emine Demir, the former editorial manager of the Kurdish-language daily Azadiya Welat. Demir was given 138 years in prison in connection with dozens of articles in the paper. CPJ called today for Turkish authorities to overturn the sentence on appeal and end the…
With friends like this … Aliyev gets Azerbaijani ‘award’
Life is full of surprises. In Eurasia, authoritarian leaders and their entourages like to pull them out around the holidays. What made my eyes open wide this season was a news report from Azerbaijan, dated December 29. The Baku-based Trend news agency said President Ilham Aliyev had been given the “Journalists’ Friend Award” by the…
Journalists charged, police raids continue in Belarus
New York, January 3, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the European Union today to condition its diplomatic relations with Belarus on the release of all recently arrested journalists and the halt of official Minsk’s crackdown on the independent press.
A defiant Azerbaijan rebuffs Fatullayev appeal
New York, December 30, 2010–Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev’s motion to be freed pending his appeal of a drug conviction, the Turan news agency reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists has concluded the drug charge was falsified as a means of keeping Fatullayev in jail despite European Court of Human…
Cautious optimism for French reporters held in Afghanistan
On December 29, 2009, Stéphane Taponier and Hervé Ghesquière, two seasoned reporters with the French public service TV channel France 3, and their three Afghan assistants, were taken hostage in Afghanistan. One year later, a sense of cautious optimism seems to prevail in Paris. On December 20, French authorities announced that they had received a…
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…
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…