‘Not at the finish line’: Slovak editor Peter Bárdy on ending impunity for Ján Kuciak’s murder
Last month brought mixed news in the quest for justice for 27-year-old Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak, who was murdered with his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in their home outside Bratislava on February 21, 2018. The alleged mastermind, businessman Marián Kočner, is behind bars for forgery; on January 12 an appeals court upheld a lower court ruling sentencing Kočner to…
Anonymous Telegram channel publishes financial information of Russian journalist Elena Solovyova
New York, February 17, 2021 – Russian authorities should investigate the nonconsensual release of journalist Elena Solovyova’s financial information online and ensure that the perpetrators are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In several posts on February 4 and 10, the anonymous Telegram channel “Komi-Telega,” which has over 6,000 subscribers, published…
Belarusian authorities raid Belarusian Association of Journalists headquarters, journalists’ homes
Vilnius, Lithuania, February 16, 2021 — Belarusian authorities should cease their raids against journalists and journalistic associations and return confiscated reporting equipment, records, and money, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, police in Belarus raided the Minsk headquarters of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), a local advocacy and trade group, and the apartments…
Turkey sentences 4 Özgür Gündem journalists to jail on terror charges
Istanbul, February 16, 2020 – Turkish authorities should cease prosecuting former staffers of the shuttered Özgür Gündem newspaper and not contest their appeals, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the 23rd Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes convicted three former editors and the former publisher of pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem on terrorism charges, and…
Meet Mediazona, the punk rock-founded Russian news outlet whose editor was jailed for a tweet
Of the more than 100 Russian journalists who have been arrested or fined covering rallies in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Mediazona chief editor Sergey Smirnov has become a symbol of the absurd lengths to which Russian authorities are willing to go to quash coverage of the events. On January 20, Smirnov retweeted another person’s tweet saying…
Russian blogger jailed for 25 days over coverage of Navalny protests, hospitalized after hunger strike
New York, February 10, 2021 – Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Dmitry Bairov, drop all charges against him, and allow him to work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 28, plain-clothed law enforcement officers detained Bairov near his home in Ulan-Ude, a city in the eastern Russian Republic…
Uzbek blogger Otabek Sattoriy detained, charged with extortion
New York, February 8, 2021 – Uzbek authorities should immediately release journalist Otabek Sattoriy, drop all charges against him, and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 30, in the southern city of Termez, a group of plain-clothed police officers detained Sattoriy, a blogger who covers alleged local…
Belarus journalists Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova to face trial over protest reporting
New York, February 8, 2021 – Ahead of tomorrow’s trial of Belarusian journalists Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova over their coverage of protests in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Belarusian authorities should immediately drop the absurd criminal charges against journalists Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova, and release them unconditionally,”…
Journalist Valery Vorotnik assaulted in Ukraine
New York, February 4, 2021 – Ukrainian authorities should promptly and thoroughly investigate the recent attack on journalist Valery Vorotnik, and ensure that the perpetrators are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 2, in the central city of Cherkasy, two men entered the editorial office of the independent broadcaster…
Kazakh police detain, harass editor of independent weekly Uralskaya Nedelya
New York, February 3, 2021 — Kazakhstan authorities should immediately cease harassing journalist Lukpan Akhmedyarov and allow him to work freely and without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 1, police in the Abai district of the western city of Uralsk summoned Akhmedyarov, chief editor of independent weekly newspaper…