Kyrgyzstan freezes Radio Azattyk bank account under money laundering laws
Stockholm, November 4, 2022—Kyrgyz authorities should immediately restore access to the bank account and website of Radio Azattyk, U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s local service, and cease all attempts to obstruct the outlet’s work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Monday, October 31, staff at the local offices of Turkey-based DemirBank…
CPJ: Kyrgyzstan’s block of RFE/RL website ‘a flagrant act of censorship’
Stockholm, October 27, 2022 – Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Policy on Wednesday announced a two-month block of the website of Radio Azattyk, the local service of U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, under the country’s false information law after the outlet refused to remove a video report on recent border…
Jailed Tajik journalist Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda describes severe physical abuse, forced confession in letter
Stockholm, October 25, 2022 – Tajikistan authorities must provide a complete and convincing response to allegations that jailed journalist Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda has been subjected to severe physical abuse and mistreatment, and that he and other jailed journalists were forced to record false confessions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Friday, October 21, the…
Russian authorities in Kazan question, search homes of 7 RFE/RL freelance journalists and contributors
Paris, August 29, 2022—Russian authorities should stop intimidating journalists and contributors to U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and let the media work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On August 17, police in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan republic, searched the homes of Nelya Biktimirova, Aysilu Kadyrova, Alsu Kiyamova, and…
Tajikistan outlet threatened with closure; 4 journalists attacked during unrest coverage
New York, May 20, 2022 – Tajikistan authorities must withdraw their official warning against independent outlet Asia Plus, swiftly and transparently investigate attacks on four journalists, and ensure that reporters can freely cover events of public importance, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Tuesday, May 17, Asia Plus announced that it was ceasing…
Some Ukrainian journalists are leaving the media for the military in the name of patriotism
Russia’s war in Ukraine, now in its third month, has already claimed an alarming number of journalists’ lives: at least seven killed in crossfire while reporting and at least six more who died in circumstances that CPJ continues to investigate. There are at least 10 more names that do not appear on CPJ’s list of journalists killed…
Russian journalists labeled as ‘foreign agents,’ detained, and attacked while reporting
Paris, April 11, 2022 — Russian authorities should stop harassing members of the press and labeling them as foreign agents, should thoroughly investigate all attacks on journalists, and ensure that the media can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Friday, April 8, the Russian Ministry of Justice labeled three journalists—independent newspaper…
Russian newspaper Pskovskaya Guberniya searched; journalists flee amid home raids
Paris, March 23, 2022 — Russian authorities should stop harassing independent journalists and let all members of the press work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On March 5, officers with the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Center for Combating Extremism and the OMON special riot police raided the office of Pskovskaya Guberniya, an…
Russian journalist Andrey Novashov detained, charged with spreading ‘fake’ information
Berlin, March 22, 2022 — Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Andrey Novashov, drop all charges against him, and refrain from threatening journalists with prison over their work and commentary, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Monday, March 21, authorities in the Siberian region of Kemerovo detained Novashov, a reporter with the U.S. Congress-funded…
Russia-Ukraine watch
How the war is affecting press freedom in the region Updated June 16, 2022 Russia’s February 24 full-scale invasion of Ukraine marked a sharp escalation in threats to press freedom in the region and beyond. Journalists in Ukraine have been killed covering the war, while many of their Russian counterparts have fled or faced persecution….