Reporters stranded at airport for two days, harassed
RUSSIA: New York, February 28, 2008—Security guards at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow continued to hold Natalya Morar and her husband Ilya Barabanov, both reporters with the independent newsweekly The New Times, for a second consecutive day. Authorities have denied Morar access to her lawyer while pressuring her to buy a return ticket to her…
Russian journalist on trial for defaming local governor in Internet chat room
New York, February 23, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the criminal defamation prosecution of Dmitry Tashlykov, a reporter for the Kovrov-based weekly Vladimirsky Krai, for remarks made in an Internet chat room. Tashlykov was charged with defaming Vladimir regional Governor Nikolai Vinogradov in an Internet chat room in January 2006. His trial…
UKRAINE: TV news director violently attacked
February 18, 2007 Posted March 2, 2007 Anatoly Shinkarenko, 9 Kanal ATTACKED Two men violently attacked Shinkarenko, news director of the local television station 9 Kanal, in the eastern industrial city of Dnipropetrovsk. In late afternoon, Shinkarenko was leaving the café Gnom when two men began punching him, knockimg him off his feet, Shinkarenko told…
Independent editor jailed in Russia
New York, February 22, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the fate of Vladimir Chugunov, founder and editor of the independent weekly Chugunka, who has been imprisoned since January 21, according to his family and the independent Moscow daily Novaya Gazeta. Chugunov was summoned to police headquarters in Solnechnogorsk, 40 miles (64…
Russian police search IWPR office in North Caucasus
New York, February 21, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s official harassment of the Vladikavkaz office of the London-based media training and reporting group, the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR). Vladikavkaz police searched the local IWPR premises today, confiscating all computers and office documents, Valery Dzutsev, the institute’s Vladikavkaz coordinator, told CPJ.…
Human Rights Watch executive denied entry visa
New York, February 20, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists is troubled by Russia’s failure to issue an entry visa to Human Rights Watch (HRW) Executive Director Kenneth Roth. Roth intended to travel to Russia on Tuesday to hold a press conference to present his group’s report on obstacles nongovernmental organizations face in the region. This…
In Moscow, second Klebnikov murder trial starts tomorrow
New York, February 14, 2007–The second jury trial of two Chechen men charged in the July 2004 slaying of Forbes Russia Editor Paul Klebnikov will start tomorrow in Moscow. The Committee to Protect Journalists urges court officials to make the proceedings open to the public, to ensure the suspects are present in court, and to…
In Uzbekistan, journalist arrested and charged with smuggling illegal literature
New York, February 13, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the January 22 detention of an independent journalist and human rights researcher in Tashkent. Umida Niyazova covered politics and human rights in Uzbekistan for the Central Asia news Web site Oasis, a project of the Moscow-based media watchdog Center for Journalism in Extreme…
CPJ condemns restrictions on journalists covering Sunday’s presidential vote in Turkmenistan
New York, February 9, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns restrictions on the foreign and domestic journalists covering the Turkmen presidential election on February 11. While voters will cast their ballots for a president for the first time since 1992 on Sunday, CPJ said the outcome is all but assured. The six presidential contenders, including…