Murder of Boris Nemtsov highlights Russia’s impunity record
The brazen contract-style killing of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on Friday night–carried out within range of a dozen security cameras and yards from the Kremlin walls in Moscow–serves as a grim reminder of the risks government critics face in Russia.
Russian journalist beaten in Saratov, second from same site in five months
New York, January 14, 2015–An independent journalist was attacked on Tuesday in the Russian city of Saratov, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the assault and calls on authorities to investigate and to consider journalism a motive in the crime.
Press freedom groups urge Russia to probe murders of journalists
On Sunday, which marked the first United Nations-backed International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, CPJ joined a coalition of international press freedom and human rights groups in urging Russian investigators to serve justice for our murdered colleagues.
Russian actor condemned for wearing press insignia and firing weapons
Russian actor Mikhail Porechenkov has joined basketball star Dennis Rodman, who declared North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un his best friend, and Jennifer Lopez who sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President” to the authoritarian leader of Turkmenistan, on the list of celebrities who have made human rights faux pas.
Governments fall short in efforts to combat impunity in journalists’ murders
Ninety percent of murderers walk free, threatening press freedom, CPJ report finds New York, October 28, 2014–Despite increased international attention to the murder of journalists, governments have failed to take meaningful action to reduce the high rates of targeted violence and impunity, the Committee to Protect Journalists found in a new report released today.
The Road to Justice: Breaking the Cycle of Impunity in the Killing of Journalists
A CPJ Special Report New York, October 14, 2014– CPJ’s will release a new report, “The Road to Justice: Breaking the Cycle of Impunity in the Killing of Journalists,” to highlight the threat that impunity in journalist murders poses to press freedom today. The report’s launch will mark the first U.N.-recognized International Day to End…
Mikhail Zygar, Russia
2014 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee (Courtesy of ABC News) Mikhail Zygar is the editor-in-chief of the independent Russian TV channel Dozhd. Under Zygar’s leadership, Dozhd has provided an alternative to Kremlin-controlled federal TV channels by focusing on news content and giving a platform to opposition voices. The channel’s coverage of politically sensitive issues, like…
Responsibility to end impunity rests with UN member states
Today marked an important step in efforts to protect journalists, with the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva unanimously adopting a new resolution on the safety of journalists. Resolution 27/L7 reiterates, and strengthens the 2012 resolution (A/HRC/RES/21/12) agreed on by the same body.
Journalists investigating deaths of Russian soldiers are threatened and attacked
Journalists investigating the deaths of Russian soldiers that news reports claimed were killed during Russia’s alleged involvement in Ukraine’s conflict have been targeted in a series of attacks since late August, according to a press freedom group. Russia has denied that its soldiers were involved in the conflict, but journalists who spoke to the Committee…