Attacks on the Press 2004: Europe and Central Asia Analysis
Overview by Alex Lupis Authoriatarian rulers strengthened their hold on power in many former Soviet republics in 2004. Their secretive, centralized governments aggressively suppressed all forms of independent activity, from journalism and human rights monitoring to religious activism and political opposition.
Attacks on the Press 2004: Russia
RussiaA midyear purge of independent voices on state television and an alarming suppression of news coverage during the Beslan hostage crisis marked a year in which Russian President Vladimir Putin increasingly exerted Soviet-style control over the media. Using intelligence agents and an array of politicized state agencies, Putin pushed for an obedient and patriotic press…
Supreme Court examines complaints in Kholodov murder case
New York, March 10, 2005—The Military Collegium of Russia’s Supreme Court today opened hearings to examine complaints filed by the Prosecutor General’s Office and the parents of Dmitry Kholodov, a slain reporter for the Moscow-based independent newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, according to local press reports. Kholodov was murdered in October 1994 after criticizing then Defense Minister…
CPJ seeks to halt intimidation in Chechnya
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is extremely concerned about an ongoing campaign by the Federal Security Service (FSB) and prosecutors to intimidate and obstruct the work of independent journalists reporting on the ongoing war in and around the southern republic of Chechnya.
Russian Prosecutor-General charges one in the murder
New York, February 23, 2005—Belarusian authorities yesterday extradited to Russia two ethnic Chechens who are suspects in the July slaying of Paul Klebnikov, founding editor of Forbes Russia magazine, according to local and international press reports. The Russian General-Prosecutor’s Office today charged one of the men, Muslim Ibragimov, with complicity in the July 2004 murder…
Interior Ministry says journalist will not be deported
New York, February 22, 2005—The Interior Ministry in North Ossetia says a journalist recently ordered deported by the Federal Security Service may instead stay in Russia and reapply for citizenship, according to local press reports. But the apparent shift does not lift any of the restrictions that have prevented Yuri Bagrov—who has covered the North…
CPJ urges Bush to highlight Russian press abuses in Putin summit
Dear President Bush: The Committee to Protect Journalists is extremely concerned about the dramatic decline in press freedom under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tenure, including a recent surge in new media restrictions spearheaded by the Kremlin and its allies.
Journalist’s deportation delayed
New York, February 16, 2005—A journalist ordered deported by the Russian security service was allowed to stay in Russia temporarily because officials in the passport office told him they could find no legal basis to expel him. Yuri Bagrov, who has covered the North Caucasus for The Associated Press and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL),…
CPJ concerned about journalist’s pending deportation
New York, February 15, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed that the Russian government is planning to deport Yuri Bagrov, a journalist who has covered the North Caucasus for The Associated Press and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, in retaliation for his independent reporting on the war in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya. An…