Iranian nationals indicted in attempt to kidnap US-based journalist
This week, U.S. prosecutors indicted five Iranian nationals for allegedly surveilling and planning to kidnap Brooklyn-based journalist Masih Alinejad. The indictment “shows that Iranian intelligence agents will stop at nothing to silence independent members of the press, even those abroad,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. Iranian agents have previously…
In Belarus, Pratasevich’s arrest highlights risks facing journalists covering protests
The May 23 arrest of Belarusian journalist and blogger Raman Pratasevich off a diverted commercial passenger flight was a shattering blow to press freedom in Belarus. Pratasevich is the co-founder of NEXTA and chief editor of Belarus of the Brain, two Telegram channels that covered protests against President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a dangerous beat in the country where demonstrations are…
Ahead of Khashoggi anniversary, the fight for justice continues
Friday marks the second anniversary of the gruesome murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. CPJ continues our fight for justice in Khashoggi’s case, sending a message to the world that those responsible cannot get away with such a crime. In an op-ed for World Politics…
Dmitry Zavadsky
Zavadsky, 29, a kidnapped cameraman with the Russian public television network ORT, was officially declared dead by a district court in the capital, Minsk. According to local press reports, the cameraman’s widow, Svetlana Zavadskaya, initiated the judicial process in October 2003. Zavadsky’s body was never recovered following his abduction. The journalist was reported missing after…
Ukrainian investigative outlet Slidstvo.Info faces potential investigation for its reporting
New York, March 11, 2020 — Ukrainian authorities should not conduct a criminal investigation into Slidstvo.Info, and should allow its journalists to work freely and without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Ukrainian journalist Vadym Komarov dies six weeks after assault
Washington, D.C., June 20, 2019 -Ukrainian investigative reporter Vadym Komarov died today as the result of an assault on May 4, local media reported. Unidentified men beat the Cherkasy-based journalist’s head with a heavy object, one day after he posted on Facebook that he planned to publish news on alleged corruption in sports schools, according…
Belarusian journalist to go on trial
Kiev, July 6, 2018–Belarusian authorities should immediately release journalist Dzmitry Halko and drop all the charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Halko, also known as Dmitry Galko, is scheduled to be tried by a Minsk court on July 10 on charges of assaulting a police officer at his Minsk apartment last…
Anastasiya Stanko, Ukraine
CPJ is honored to present its 2018 International Press Freedom Award to Ukrainian journalist Anastasiya “Nastya” Stanko. Anastasiya Stanko is a Ukrainian journalist and TV presenter and a member of the “Stop censorship” movement, an anti-censorship group made up of journalists and media organizations in Ukraine. In 2013, she co-founded the independent media channel Hromadske,…
‘I don’t feel safe now’: Journalists in Ukraine anxious after Babchenko operation
In the week since the Ukrainian security service, the SBU, staged the assassination of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, little if any dust stirred up by the elaborate and controversial operation–ostensibly carried out to foil a Russian plot to kill him–has settled.