In Russia, Putin signs restrictive amendments on ‘extremism’
New York, July 26, 2007—Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law today a package of amendments that expand the definition of extremism to include public discussion of such activity, and give law enforcement officials broad authority to suspend media outlets that do not comply with the new restrictions, according to local press reports. The package,…
CPJ calls on Tajik president to veto Internet criminal defamation bill
New York, July 26, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon to veto amendments to the country’s criminal code that would broaden its defamation laws to include Internet publications. Amendments to several articles of the penal code were adopted by the upper house of Tajikistan’s parliament on July 19, according to…
To mark Press Day, CPJ urges release of jailed Azerbaijani journalists
New York, July 20, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Azerbaijani authorities to mark the country’s National Press Day on Sunday by releasing the seven journalists jailed in the nation’s prisons. Azerbaijan is the region’s leading jailer of journalists and one of the world’s worst backsliders on press freedom, CPJ research shows.
Editor of independent weekly imprisoned in Mordoviya
New York, July 19, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today at the imprisonment of Anatoly Sardayev, founder and editor-in-chief of the independent weekly newspaper Mordoviya Segodnya (Mordoviya Today) in the city of Saransk, the capital of the central Russian republic of Mordoviya. The Lenin District Court in Saransk found Sardayev guilty on June…
17 journalists investigated for publishing intelligence documents
New York, August 7, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about a criminal investigation the German government has launched against 17 journalists. They are accused of publishing information from classified documents related to CIA rendition flights and suspected misconduct by the German secret services in Baghdad during the 2003 U.S. invasion, according to The…
In Russia, legislation on ‘extremism’ poses new press freedom threat
New York, July 11, 2007—The upper house of the Russian parliament today approved a package of amendments that would expand the definition of extremism to include public discussion of such activity, and give law enforcement officials broad authority to suspend media outlets that do not comply with the new restrictions. The package, proposed by deputies…
Appellate court ratifies prison sentence of Senet journalists
New York, July 9, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Friday’s decision by an Azerbaijani appellate court in Baku to uphold the convictions of two independent journalists on charges of insulting Islam in a November commentary. On May 4, Judge Yusif Kerimov of Sabail District Court in Baku convicted Editor-in-Chief Samir Sadagatoglu and writer Rafiq…
Prosecutors say no foul play in Ivan Safronov’s death
New York, July 6, 2007—The independent business daily Kommersant reported that Moscow prosecutors have ruled out foul play in the March death of its reporter, Ivan Safronov. Prosecutors have not found any link between the military correspondent’s recent work and his fall from a window in his apartment building, the newspaper said. Investigators continue to…
Security ministry hits opposition editor with new charges
New York, July 5, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the continued persecution of Eynulla Fatullayev, imprisoned editor of the Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and the Azeri-language daily Gündalik Azarbaycan, and that of his staff. The Ministry of National Security (MNB) brought a new criminal charge of incitement to ethnic and religious hatred against Fatullayev…
CPJ concerned about health of jailed editor
New York, July 3, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today about the health and well-being of Boris Stomakhin, editor of the small Moscow monthly Radikalnaya Politika (Radical Politics), who has been imprisoned for the past 15 months. On June 25, Stomakhin was transferred from a Moscow prison to a prison in the city…