New York, November 8, 2002—Three journalists in Tajikistan have been conscripted into military service in retaliation for producing a talk show that criticized local military officials, according to local and international reports. The program, which aired on October 24 and 27, was produced by journalists from the local, independent television stations SM-1 and TRK-Asia in…
New York, October 29, 2002—CPJ is deeply concerned that Sergei Duvanov, a prominent 49-year-old journalist known for his criticism of Kazakh authorities, was arrested on October 27 on suspicion of raping a minor. The journalist, who remains in detention, has been officially charged, the opposition party Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan reported today. Duvanov has denied…
New York, October 25, 2002—The hostage standoff in central Moscow has highlighted growing restrictions on the Russian media, including this week’s passage of legislation banning “propaganda of terrorism” in mass media. Although the legislation has not become law, the government is already using it to censor coverage of the hostage crisis. A large group of…
New York, October 24, 2002—Armenian free-lance journalist Mark Grigorian suffered serious shrapnel wounds to the head and chest from a grenade thrown at him as he walked through the center of the country’s capital, Yerevan. The grenade exploded at around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 22, as Grigorian walked past the entrance of the Yerevan…
New York, October 4, 2002—An appeals court in the northern breakaway region of Cyprus yesterday released from prison two journalists with the opposition daily Afrika, according to international press reports. On August 8, a court of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) sentenced Afrika editor-in-chief Sener Levent and editor Memduh Ener to six months…
New York, September 26, 2002—Roddy Scott, 31, a British free-lance cameraman working for Britain’s Frontline, a television news agency, was killed in the Russian republic of Ingushetia. Russian soldiers found his body earlier today in Ingushetia’s Galashki region, near the border with Chechnya, following clashes between Russian forces and a group of Chechen fighters. The…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by a wave of violent attacks against journalists near the southern city of Penza. Most recently, Igor Salikov, director of information security at Propaganda publishing house, was killed soon after a newspaper printed by his employer published a series of articles alleging that local authorities were involved in corruption.
New York, September 16, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is outraged by today’s conviction of Viktar Ivashkevich, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Rabochy. A Minsk district court found Ivashkevich guilty of libeling President Aleksandr Lukashenko and sentenced him to two years’ hard labor. Under the Belarusian Criminal Code, defaming the president is punishable by…