Europe & Central Asia

  

New upsurge in assaults on journalists

August 6, 1999 His Excellency Heidar Aliyev President of Azerbaijan 19 Istiglaliet Street Baku, Azerbaijan 370066 Via fax: 011-9412-920-625 Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by a recent series of violent attacks against journalists in Azerbaijan, including the August 6 assault on Mirjavid Rahim, a reporter with the Uch Noqte…

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Ukraine: Four TV stations yanked off the air

August 6, 1999 His Excellency Leonid Kuchma President of Ukraine vul. Bankivska 11 Kyiv, Ukraine Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly troubled by your government’s recent suspension of all broadcasts by four independent television stations on the Crimean peninsula. On July 26, your government’s frequency inspection agency ordered the state-run Crimean…

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Belarus: Government wields defamation statutes to muzzle press

July 29, 1999 His Excellency Alexander Lukashenko President of Belarus Republic House of Government Minsk, Belarus 220020 VIA FAX: 011-375-172-23-58-25 Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by the alarming number of recent defamation cases filed against independent newspapers in Belarus, and by the ongoing harassment of journalists there.

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Bulgaria: Mystery thugs maul reporter

July 26, 1999 His Excellency Petar Stoyanov President of the Republic of Bulgaria VIA FAX: 011 359 2 875 601/011 359 2 822 574 Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed by the June 28th assault on journalist Alexei Lazarov in Sofia. Lazarov, a media reporter for the popular independent weekly…

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CPJ urges Turkey to end criminal prosecutions of journalists

Istanbul, Turkey, July 23, 1999–The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a report today documenting Turkey’s continuing use of criminal prosecutions to silence journalists who report on sensitive topics, such as the Kurdish question and the role of Islam in politics. At a press conference in Istanbul, a CPJ delegation expressed its concern…

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1999 Press Freedom Awards – Speeches

María Cristina Caballero, Colombia In July of 1997, I covered a terrible massacre in the town of Mapirip‡n. Right wing paramilitaries cut many of the inhabitants into pieces during five days. As I was leaving, a very old man without shoes ran to me and said, “Wait! Wait!” He told me, “All of my sons…

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1999 Awards – Announcement

CPJ Honors Journalists with International Press Freedom Awards For Courage in Reporting the News “60 Minutes” Executive Producer Don Hewitt Also Honored at November 23rd Event

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Russia: CPJ protests Grigory Pasko conviction

July 20,1999 His Excellency Boris Yeltsin President of the Russian Federation Via Fax: 011 7 095 206 5173; 206 6277 Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly troubled by today’s conviction of Russian military journalist Grigory Pasko for providing allegedly classified information to Japanese media about the Pacific Fleet’s hazardous handling of…

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CPJ Expresses Dismay Over Goktepe Verdict

May 5, 1999 His Excellency Selcuk Oztek Minister of Justice Adalet Bakanligi 06659 Ankara, Turkey Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply dismayed by yesterday’s verdict in the retrial of 11 police officers accused in the January 1996 murder of Metin Goktepe, a journalist with the leftist daily Evrensel. The Afyon court’s decision…

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CPJ Expresses Dismay Over Goktepe Verdict

May 5, 1999 His Excellency Selcuk Oztek Minister of Justice Adalet Bakanligi 06659 Ankara, Turkey Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply dismayed by yesterday’s verdict in the retrial of 11 police officers accused in the January 1996 murder of Metin Goktepe, a journalist with the leftist daily Evrensel. The Afyon court’s decision…

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