New York, February 2, 2000 —Andrei Babitsky, the Russian journalist who was reported missing while covering the Chechnya conflict, is being held by Russian military authorities in a Russian-controlled area of Chechnya. Babitsky, a veteran correspondant with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has not been heard from since he called his wife Lyudmila Babitsky from Grozny…
New York, January 27, 2000 —The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a nonpartisan organization dedicated to safeguarding press freedom around the world, is gravely concerned with the recent disappearance of Russian journalist and 10-year veteran Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent, Andrei Babitsky. Babitsky, 36, well known for his critical reporting on Moscow’s military campaign in…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by the arrest of Vladivostok journalist Irina Grebneva, editor of the opposition weekly Arsenyevskiye Vesti. Grebneva was released today after a five-day detention imposed in retaliation for publishing telephone transcripts that appeared to implicate senior political figures in Primorye Territory in political corruption.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly disturbed by the pressure your government has exerted on the independent television station ANS to block it from airing an interview with a Chechen rebel leader.
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ ) is greatly alarmed by a December 27 grenade attack near the offices of the independent weekly Elet es Irodalom in Budapest. The newspaper’s editors suspect the attack came in reprisal for its recent court victory in a libel suit that Your Excellency and Fidesz, the main governing party, filed against it in October.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed by the criminal prosecution of broadcast journalist Zdenek Zukal for allegedly making false accusations against public officials. If he is found guilty on all three charges filed against him, Zukal could be jailed for up to nine years.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly concerned by the Azerbaijani parliament’s December 9 adoption of a new media law that severely restricts press freedom in your country. Although the new law formally forbids censorship, it outlines several provisions that limit the internationally-recognized right of journalists to practice their profession. The legislation: