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.
CPJ testimony focuses on Russian impunity
Nina Ognianova, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, provided testimony to the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe on the pressing issue of impunity in journalist murders in Russia. The commission held a hearing this week on Russia’s human rights record. A transcript of the testimony follows:
Supreme Court orders retrial in Politkovskaya murder
New York, June 25, 2009–Russia’s Supreme Court today overturned the acquittals of three men accused of involvement in the October 2006 murder of Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya. A spokesman for the court said there were procedural violations during the trial, according to press reports.
In summit, Obama should address Russian impunity
Dear President Obama: In advance of your July 6-8 summit in Moscow with President Dmitry Medvedev, we’d like to draw your attention to the pressing issue of impunity in violent crimes against journalists in Russia. We ask you to place this issue on the agenda for your talks. Seventeen journalists have been murdered for their work or have died under suspicious circumstances since 2000. In only one case have the killers been convicted. In every case, the masterminds remain unpunished.