Russia Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Committee to Protect Journalists

This screenshot of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website shows how the government labels critical reports as 'fake news.'

Russia advances legislation on ‘fake news’ and ‘disrespecting authorities’

March 7, 2019 4:15 PM EST

New York, March 7, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalist today called on Russia to drop proposed legislation advanced in the country’s parliament that would allow courts to jail and fine people who use the internet to spread “fake news” or disrespect government officials and state symbols, including President Vladimir Putin. The bills would also allow…

Police walk past a monument to Peter the Great during a rally of opposition supporters in Saint Petersburg on February 10. Jailed Russian journalist Igor Rudnikov is due in court in the city on February 14. (Reuters/Anton Vaganov)

Editor of Russia’s Novye Kolyosa due in court after 15 months in custody

February 13, 2019 4:47 PM EST

New York, February 13, 2019–Igor Rudnikov, editor-in-chief and owner of the independent Kaliningrad-based weekly Novye Kolyosa, is due to appear in court on extortion charges in St. Petersburg tomorrow, according to local news reports. Rudnikov, who faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted, has been in pre-trial detention since his arrest on November…

A police officer walks inside the office of Echo of Moscow radio station in Moscow on October 23, 2017. A journalist at the station's Pskov office is now under investigation for comments she made on-air in November, 2018. (Vasily Maximov/AFP)

Russia investigates reporter, seizes property over allegations of “justifying terrorism”

February 8, 2019 3:16 PM EST

New York, February 8, 2019–Russian authorities should immediately drop a criminal investigation launched against reporter Svetlana Prokopyeva and return her personal possessions seized during a raid of her apartment by armed police on February 6, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

A Russian traffic police officer stands guard as vehicles drive past in central Moscow. In Far Eastern Russia, a blogger was recently detained by authorities, ostensibly for a traffic violation. He maintains that the arrest is linked to a video he shared online. (Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

Russia jails blogger for 10 days after sharing video online

January 15, 2019 1:30 PM EST

New York, January 15, 2019 – Russian authorities should immediately release blogger Viktor Toroptsev from jail, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court in the city of Amursk, in the Far Eastern region of Khabarovsk, handed a 10-day sentence to Toroptsev yesterday, ostensibly for a traffic violation, after he shared a video on…