Petitioners urge Azerbaijan to free Eynulla Fatullayev
President Aliyev: The Committee to Protect Journalists urges you to open a new page in your government’s policies toward the independent and opposition press, one that would demonstrate tolerance for the critical role of media in a democracy. No other action would contribute to this goal as much as the immediate release of Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the now-closed independent Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and the Azeri-language daily Gündalik Azarbaycan, who has been imprisoned since April 2007 on charges that range from defamation to terrorism.
Casualties of foreign journalists mount in Afghanistan
New York January 11, 2010—The death of U.K.-based Sunday Mirror reporter Rupert Hamer, who was killed in an explosion outside a village in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, is an indicator of the rising danger for journalists in Afghanistan. The explosion also wounded Hamer’s colleague photographer Philip Coburn and took the life of a U.S. Marine.
Kazakhstan must stop trial of press defenders
We issued the following statement after receiving reports today that a trial of three press freedom activists, who organized a protest on Wednesday against the jailing of journalists in Kazakhstan, has started in Almaty; the three are charged with violating a law on holding rallies…
Chronicler of Bulgarian criminal underworld is slain
New York, January 5, 2010—Bulgarian prosecutors must thoroughly investigate today’s murder in Sofia of Bobi Tsankov, author of a new book and a series of newspaper articles detailing the activities of reputed crime figures, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. At least two gunmen opened fire on Tsankov, 30, and two other men on busy Aleksandur Stamboliiski…
Fatullayev to be tried on new charge in Azerbaijan
New York, January 4, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists demanded today that Azerbaijani authorities scrap a new trumped-up charge against imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev, above, a 2009 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award. On December 30, Fatullayev was charged with drug possession after prison guards allegedly found heroin in his cell. On New Year’s…
Five missing, apparently kidnapped in Afghanistan
New York, January 4, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the fate of two French journalists and their three Afghan colleagues, all apparently kidnapped while on assignment in the eastern province of Kapisa for France 3 public television station. The Afghan government reported them kidnapped on December 30. The names of the crew…
Azerbaijan trumps up new charge against Fatullayev
New York, December 30, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a new criminal charge filed against imprisoned Azerbaijani editor Eynulla Fatullayev, a 2009 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award. Based on Fatullayev’s account and the government’s long record of persecuting the editor, CPJ believes the charge to be fabricated.
Kazakh police: Kyrgyz citizens suspected in editor’s killing
New York, December 29, 2009—Police in Kazakhstan said Monday that they have identified several suspects in this month’s murder of prominent Kyrgyz editor Gennady Pavlyuk. Police did not identify the suspects or describe their alleged roles, other than to say the suspects are citizens of neighboring Kyrgyzstan. In a statement today, the Kyrgyz Prosecutor General’s…