EXPLOSION ROCKS HOME OF JOURNALIST
New York, February 2, 2004—An explosion at about 2 p.m. today shook the downtown Moscow apartment of Yelena Tregubova, an independent journalist who recently published a controversial best-selling book criticizing the Kremlin. A package was left outside the door to Tregubova’s apartment and exploded as she was leaving to meet a friend.
Court releases imprisoned journalist
New York, November 13, 2003—The Chelyabinsk Regional Court today amended the sentence of imprisoned journalist German Galkin from one year in jail to one year of probation, according to local press reports. Authorities immediately released Galkin from prison in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk. Galkin, publisher of Rabochaya Gazeta and deputy chief editor of Vecherny…
Supreme Court upholdsacquittal of journalists on state secrets charge
New York, November 10, 2003—Russia’s Supreme Court upheld the acquittal last week of two journalists from the Perm-based independent newspaper Zvezda who were charged with revealing state secrets. Yuri Shmidt, the journalists’ lawyer, said that the district court’s ruling was so strongly supportive of the journalists that it would have been impossible for the Supreme…
Constitutional Court abolishes part of restrictive election law
New York, October 30, 2003—Russia’s Constitutional Court today struck down part of a law that sought to strengthen state regulation over independent media outlets, particularly coverage of election campaigns. According to local and international press reports, the court ruled that a sub-section of Article 48 of the law “On Fundamental Guarantees of Voters Rights” is…
CPJ concerned about investigation into journalist’s murder
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the investigation into the October 9 murder of Aleksei Sidorov, editor-in-chief of the independent daily Tolyattinskoye Obozreniye. We believe that investigators have prematurely determined that the crime was unrelated to Sidorov’s journalistic work.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF INDEPENDENT DAILY MURDERED
New York, October 10, 2003—Aleksei Sidorov, the editor-in-chief of the independent daily Tolyatinskoye Obozreniye, was murdered yesterday in Togliatti, a city situated on the Volga River 600 miles (960 kilometers) east of Moscow. Sidorov is the second editor-in-chief of Tolyatinskoye Obozreniye to be murdered in the last 18 months. His predecessor, Valery Ivanov, was shot…
Two journalists die in car accident while on assignment
New York, October 7, 2003—CPJ mourns the loss of a television crew and their driver from the national state broadcaster Channel One, who died in a car accident in the Siberian region of Tyumen while on assignment. Channel One journalist Natalia Astafyeva, cameraman Sergei Isakov, and driver Yuri Selyanov died on Saturday when their car…
Federal court upholds journalist’s conviction
New York, October 7, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disappointed that the Kalininsky District Court, in the city of Chelyabinsk, today upheld journalist German Galkin’s conviction on criminal defamation charges and sentence of one year in a labor camp. On August 15, Galkin was convicted of criminal defamation following a trial that…