Europe & Central Asia

  
Investigative Committee Chairman Aleksandr Bastrykin says the government won't repeat its earlier mistakes in the Politkovskaya case. (CPJ)

Circle of suspects widens in Politkovskaya case

New York, October 6, 2010–Detectives with the federal Investigative Committee, the Russian agency responsible for investigating serious crimes, say they are probing a widening circle of suspects in the 2006 murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

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Mission Journal: Visiting Mikhail Beketov

In Moscow, progress is often followed by heartbreak. So it was on the day after our meeting with Russia’s top investigator, when we hit the wall of Russia’s dysfunctional criminal justice system.

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This image of Anna Politkovskaya and two men on trial for her murder on a map where she was killed was shown in a court in Moscow in 2008. The men were acquitted. (Reuters/Denis Sinyakov)

Russia pledges to pursue journalist murder probes

Moscow, September 30, 2010–Top Russian investigators have pledged to pursue 19 cases of murdered journalists presented to them by a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists, reopening several closed cases and pursuing new leads in a number of other probes.

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Russian police selectively target media’s ‘pirated’ software

Western companies that venture into Russia ought to remember this police rule: “Everything you say can and will be used against you.” In this particular case–any attempt to bring civilized rules to the Russian market game could, instead, turn into a colossal blow to your image. 

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Microsoft's Brad Smith (Francois Lenoir/Reuters)

Microsoft moves to fight anti-piracy raids in Russia

On September 11, The New York Times reported on the use of aggressive anti-piracy raids by Russian authorities to intimidate advocacy groups and independent media outlets. The article noted that these raids are usually prompted by false reports of pirated Microsoft software, sometimes from individuals claiming to represent Microsoft. This is a trend that CPJ has…

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Le Monde claims spying, the Elysée Palace says the paper is playing partisan political games. (AP/Laurent Cipriani)

Le Monde sues French president’s office

The newspaper Le Monde against the Elysée Palace, the office of the president of the French Republic: Two of France’s main symbols of influence and power are facing each other in a judicial battle that promises to be a litmus test in the running battles between the press and Nicolas Sarkozy’s so-called “imperial presidency.”

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AP

Ukraine says late minister ordered Gongadze murder

New York, September 16, 2010–On Tuesday, Ukrainian prosecutors announced that the late Interior Minister Yuri Kravchenko had ordered the 2000 murder of muckraking Internet journalist Georgy Gongadze, left, whose decapitated body was found 10 years ago today in a forest outside Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.Ukraine’s prosecutor-general’s office said in a statement that investigators have finished their probe. The investigation…

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European Court ruling protects media sources

New York, September 16, 2010–The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights unanimously held that media premises are exempt from police searches, marking a major victory for press freedom across the continent on Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. CPJ had joined in the amicus curiae.

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Kyrgyz human rights reporter sentenced to life in prison

New York, September 15, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by the conviction and life sentence handed to human rights reporter Azimjon Askarov by a court in Jalal-Abad region, southern Kyrgyzstan, today. 

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A woman holds a picture of murdered journalist Hrant Dink in 2009. (Reuters)

Turkey must bring justice in Dink murder after ECHR ruling

New York, September 15, 2010–On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) based in Strasbourg, ruled that Turkey failed to protect the life and freedom of expression of murdered Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the verdict and urges the Turkish authorizes to finally bring the perpetrators of Dink’s 2007 murder to…

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