Russia
2009
Journalist faces jail for blogging on Russian explosion
New York, August 21, 2009–Prosecutors in Abakan, the capital of the Republic of Khakassia in southern Siberia, should drop their defamation charges against online editor Mikhail Afanasyev, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The charges are tied to a blog entry about Monday’s explosion at Russia’s largest hydroelectric plant that killed dozens of workers,…
Editor shot and killed in Dagestan
New York, August 11, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the slaying in Dagestan today of Abdulmalik Akhmedilov, an editor known for his critical commentary, and urges Russian authorities to thoroughly probe journalism as the motive. Akhmedilov, 32, left, was shot in his car at around 1 p.m. local time on the outskirts of Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala,…
Natalya’s death: You don’t kill a story by killing a journalist
We were only 30 on Friday: representatives of human rights organizations, a few journalists and academics, a couple of anonymous “concerned citizens.” Standing on the Place de la Liberté (Freedom Square) in Brussels two blocks from the Parliament, a few meters away from a police team that had asked us to limit ourselves to a…
Prominent reporter abducted, murdered in Chechnya
New York, July 15, 2009–Today’s brutal murder of prominent journalist and human rights activist Natalya Estemirova, at left, in Chechnya must be thoroughly investigated immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.Estemirova, 50, was abducted this morning in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, as she was leaving her apartment for work, Reuters reported. She was found shot in…
Embattled Russian weekly’s editor assaulted in Kaliningrad
New York, July 8, 2009–Following an assault last week on the editor-in-chief of the independent weekly Dvornik in the western city of Kaliningrad, the Committee to Protect Journalists called today on regional authorities to thoroughly investigate the attack and bring those responsible to justice. The paper has been subjected to repeated harassment and legal prosecution.
In Novaya Gazeta interview, Obama addresses impunity
Before he even arrived in Moscow, President Barack Obama gave an exclusive interview to an independent Russian newspaper that has long been on the front lines of press freedom. Novaya Gazeta is known for its ground-breaking investigative reports–and the fact that four of its journalists have been killed in retaliation for their work.
Russian newspaper editor dies from head injuries
New York, June 29, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an independent investigation into the death of Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, editor-in-chief of the Rostov-on-Don newspaper Korruptsiya i Prestupnost, who succumbed today to head injuries suffered in an April attack, according to press reports.