CPJ urges Putin to revive probe into disappearance of journalist Maksim Maksimov
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the lack of progress in the investigation into the June 2004 disappearance of journalist Maksim Maksimov in St. Petersburg. Maksimov, 41, an investigative reporter for the St. Petersburg weekly magazine Gorod, was last seen on June 29, 2004, when he went to meet with a source in the city’s downtown district, the business daily Kommersant reported.
Prosecutors drop probe into stabbing death of journalist
New York, January 3, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the Belarusian prosecutor’s office has suspended an investigation of the murder of journalist Veronika Cherkasova. Local and international press reports said the authorities shelved the case on December 28 for lack of suspects. The authorities did not examine whether Cherkasova was stabbed…
NGO bill is ‘deeply troubling’
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by a bill before you that seeks to dramatically expand state control over nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including those dedicated to promoting press freedom and supporting independent media. The bill emerges at a politically sensitive time, as the Kremlin prepares for the 2007 parliamentary election and the 2008 presidential election. The proposed restrictions appear to attack political pluralism and public dissent in Russia.
Court suspends opposition paper for insulting the president
New York, December 22, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists voiced outrage at the censorship of the Kazakh opposition newspaper Zhuma-Taims which has reported on vote rigging and corruption in the government of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The Economic Court in Almaty suspended the paper’s print-run in a December 20 ruling, according to the Kazakh International Bureau…
Law criminalizes criticism of the state and Lukashenko
New York, December 22, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores a new law that makes criticism of authoritarian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and his government punishable by up to five years in prison. Lukashenko secretly signed the amendments to the penal code on December 15. They were registered on December 20 and will become law at…