Europe & Central Asia
2013
CPJ, others urge John Kerry to raise rights in Russia
In advance of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Moscow this week, Freedom House, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Committee to Protect Journalists sent him a letter to call attention to the ongoing crackdown in Russia on non-governmental organizations–including those that support press freedom and freedom of expression.
Responding to Hacked Off
Some years back during a visit to the Gambia–the West African nation ruled by a thin-skinned and mercurial president, Yahya Jammeh–I holed up in the sweltering Interior Ministry and pressed officials to release imprisoned journalists and ease up on the country’s brutal media crackdown. The officials resisted, arguing that the press in Gambia was “reckless…
In 2 major efforts, journalist security tailored to fit
In the past, donors and groups providing security to journalists in less-developed nations tended to export a Western, military-style of training designed for a war-time environment. But the danger of covering combat is one thing. Being fired upon by a motorcycle-riding assassin is another–as is being sexually molested in a crowd, discovering a video camera…
Vladimir Putin denies repressing media, critics
In the year since Vladimir Putin returned to the Russian presidency, independent media, civil society groups, and opposition activists have been under attack. But as he has done in the past, Putin recently asserted that his government is not engaged in political repression.
So your Twitter account is hacked? Reset, tweet, pray.
That is a bogus @ap tweet.– AP CorpComm (@AP_CorpComm) April 23, 2013 More than a quarter million Twitter accounts have been hacked worldwide, the social media company disclosed in February, but Tuesday’s attack on The Associated Press’s verified account, @AP, had unusual effect. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 143 points after someone hijacked the…
Kyrgyz official urged to address Askarov case
Kyrgyzstan has endured a turbulent past and continues to face significant challenges, but its leaders are committed to a democratic future, Djoomart Otorbayev, the nation’s deputy prime minister, told human rights and press freedom advocates in New York this week. The country still grapples with the repercussions of the brutal June 2010 ethnic conflict that…
Anarchists and suspected mafia target Italian media
The last several months in Italy have seen a few disquieting attacks against independent media and an investigative reporter. In one case, the widely distributed independent newspaper La Stampa received an explosive device in the mail. The Federazione Anarchica Informale/Fronte Rivoluzionario, an anarchist organization, claimed responsibility and ominously noted that La Stampa was just one…
Archaic court ruling in Belarus as photo book banned
Thursday’s court ruling in the western Grodno region of Belarus is not befitting a modern European country, where servants of justice–prosecutors and judges–are expected to ensure protection for press freedom and human rights. Instead, it is reminiscent of medieval Europe, where dissent was declared heresy and ordered destroyed.The Oshmyansky District Court ruled that the 2011 edition of…
In Strasbourg, free expression linked to Vietnam diplomacy
There is good news from Strasbourg that follows up on my entry from earlier this week, “European Parliament has chance to take on Vietnam.” Today, the European Parliament did exactly that when they unanimously adopted an Urgent Resolution on Vietnam. It was a wide-ranging document, but a large part was devoted the freedom of expression…