German student journalists jailed on the eve of G8 summit
New York, July 14, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the arrests on Sunday of Eike Korfhage and Henning Wallerius, photography students at the University of Bielefeld, Germany, and reporters for their campus radio station Hertz 87.9. Korfhage and Wallerius had traveled to St. Petersburg to report on protests surrounding the Group of…
As G8 summit nears, CPJ urges examination of Russia’s press record
New York, July 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations to raise concerns about Russia’s press freedom record when they gather in St. Petersburg on Saturday. CPJ is particularly alarmed by Russia’s record of impunity in the murders of a dozen journalists since 2000. In a June…
ARMENIA: Mayor’s supporters attack journalist
July 13, 2006 Posted: August 16, 2006 GAGIK SHAMSHIAN, freelance ATTACKED, HARASSED Gagik Shamshian, a freelancer writing for the opposition weekly Chorrord Ishkhanutyun and the independent daily Aravot, was assaulted in the southern Yerevan suburb of Nubarashen by relatives and friends of the district’s mayor, Mher Hovannisian, local press reported. The assailants threatened Shamshian, repeatedly…
Appeals court upholds jail term for Turkish-Armenian journalist
New York, July 12, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ruling yesterday by Turkey’s High Court of Appeals to uphold the six-month suspended prison sentence of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. Dink, managing editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, had appealed a conviction last October under Article 301 of the penal code, which…
Critical journalist held on spurious drug charge, colleagues say
New York, July 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the detention of a critical journalist in Azerbaijan on what local press freedom activists and opposition journalists call trumped up drug charges. Sakit Zakhidov, a prominent reporter and satirist for the Baku-based daily opposition newspaper Azadlyg, has been held since June 23. Azadlyg…
Russia: Two years after Klebnikov’s murder, still no justice
New York, July 7, 2006 — Two years after the contract-style killing of Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov, his assassins remain at large and judicial secrecy and procedural issues have crippled his family’s quest for justice. Klebnikov, a 41-year-old U.S. journalist of Russian descent, was shot outside his Moscow office on July 9, 2004, in…
Armenian editor jailed without bail; political motives cited
New York, July 7, 2006 — The editor of an opposition daily has been jailed in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, for more than two weeks without bail. Arman Babadzhanian, editor-in-chief of Zhamanak Yerevan (Yerevan Times), faces up to five years in prison for allegedly forging documents to avoid military service, but the Committee to Protect…
Russian Authorities deny British journalist entry visa
New York, July 5, 2006 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that Russian authorities have refused an entry visa to British journalist Thomas de Waal. The Moscow-based Union of Russia’s Journalists (RUJ) had invited de Waal to present his book on the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was translated into Russian last year. The…
President signs restrictive media bill
New York, July 5, 2006 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the passage today of legislation that further restricts press freedom in the Central Asian state of Kazakhstan. President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed into law a bill passed by Parliament in June that CPJ believes gives the state unlimited power to close independent…