Opposition journalists released from prison
New York, October 4, 2002—An appeals court in the northern breakaway region of Cyprus yesterday released from prison two journalists with the opposition daily Afrika, according to international press reports. On August 8, a court of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) sentenced Afrika editor-in-chief Sener Levent and editor Memduh Ener to six months…
Cameraman killed during firefight in Ingushetia
New York, September 26, 2002—Roddy Scott, 31, a British free-lance cameraman working for Britain’s Frontline, a television news agency, was killed in the Russian republic of Ingushetia. Russian soldiers found his body earlier today in Ingushetia’s Galashki region, near the border with Chechnya, following clashes between Russian forces and a group of Chechen fighters. The…
Wave of violent attacks target journalists in Penza
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by a wave of violent attacks against journalists near the southern city of Penza. Most recently, Igor Salikov, director of information security at Propaganda publishing house, was killed soon after a newspaper printed by his employer published a series of articles alleging that local authorities were involved in corruption.
CPJ outraged by conviction of independent journalist
New York, September 16, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is outraged by today’s conviction of Viktar Ivashkevich, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Rabochy. A Minsk district court found Ivashkevich guilty of libeling President Aleksandr Lukashenko and sentenced him to two years’ hard labor. Under the Belarusian Criminal Code, defaming the president is punishable by…
CPJ marks second anniversary of journalist’s disappearance
New York, September 13, 2002—Two years after the disappearance of Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze, the Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the lack of progress in the government’s inquiry into this case. “President Leonid Kuchma’s government continues to obstruct the official inquiry,” said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. “Journalists in Ukraine will not feel…
CPJ monitoring case of missing journalist
New York, September 11, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned that Iosif Costinas, a 62 year-old reporter for the Romanian independent daily Timisoara, has been missing since early June. Costinas’ journalism focused on highly sensitive political issues, including a number of unsolved murders that occurred during the 1989 anti-communist revolt, which began in…
Government targets media ahead of parliamentary elections
New York, September 6, 2002—The Interior Ministry of Macedonia announced today that it is filing criminal libel charges against Marjan Djurovski, a journalist with the weekly magazine Start, which is based in the Macedonian capital, Skopje. The ministry also stated that additional steps would be taken against other local journalists. According to the Interior Ministry,…
CPJ condemns beating of independent journalist
New York, August 29, 2002—A prominent Kazakh journalist was seriously beaten by unknown assailants on the evening of August 28, according to sources in Almaty, a southern city in Kazakhstan. Sergei Duvanov, who writes for opposition-financed Web sites, returned to his home in Almaty at around 9:45 p.m. yesterday after attending an English class. He…