Europe & Central Asia

  

Gusinsky arrest politically motivated, say Russian politicians and journalists

New York, June 14, 2000 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today expressed concern that the arrest of Vladimir Gusinsky, the head an independent Russian media company that has been the target of state harassment for several years, was designed to intimidate journalists and stifle press coverage. Russian politicians and journalists have condemned the…

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SPECIAL FORCES FREE FLEUTIAUX FROM CHECHEN CAPTIVITY

Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in RUSSIA. New York, June 12, 2000 — Brice Fleutiaux, the French photographer kidnapped by Chechen rebels last October, was freed today by Russian special forces, according to international news reports. An Interior Ministry spokesman in Moscow reported Fleutiaux’s release Monday, but provided no further details.

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Gun-in-camera trick endangers journalists

New York, June 12, 2000 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the tactics Luxembourg police used last week to shoot an armed man who was holding 25 children hostage in a daycare center could increase the risks journalists face in dangerous situations. On Thursday, June 1, Luxembourg police officers led the…

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Weekly faces legal harassment after exposing state corruption

Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is disturbed by your government’s apparent efforts to intimidate, bankrupt, and ultimately silence the Almaty independent weekly Nachnem s Ponedelnika in response to its revelations of alleged official corruption.

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Azerbaijan: Police brutalize local journalists

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the recent police assault on two journalists from the Baku daily Bu gun and by the subsequent raid on the newspaper’s editorial office. This is the second incident during the past month in which Azeri police have attacked local journalists, suggesting a pattern of gross abuse of authority and reckless disregard for press freedom in your country.

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Azerbaijan: Police brutalize local journalists

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the recent police assault on two journalists from the Baku daily Bu gun and by the subsequent raid on the newspaper’s editorial office. This is the second incident during the past month in which Azeri police have attacked local journalists, suggesting a pattern of gross abuse of authority and reckless disregard for press freedom in your country.

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Romania: Four policemen assault journalist

Dear Sir: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is troubled by the brutal assault on Valentin Dragan, a journalist with the weekly newspaper Cuget Liber in Constanta, and we urgently request further information about the status of the investigation.

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Belarus: Independent press systematically intimidated

May 25, 2000 His Excellency Alexander Lukashenko President of Belarus Republic Minsk 220020 VIA FAX: 011-375-172-23-58-25 Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by the continuing pattern of intimidation by federal and local authorities of the independent press in Belarus. Over the past few months, we have monitored many violations of…

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Russia: Journalists face violence, harassment for coverage of corruption and Chechnya

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by the recent violent attack on Igor Domnikov, a reporter for the twice-weekly paper Novaya Gazeta in Moscow, and by your government’s recent announcement that it plans to interrogate reporters from both Novaya Gazeta and the Moscow daily Kommersant for publishing interviews with Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov.

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Azerbaijan: Government cracks down on independent media before elections

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by the recent closure of the Baku-based magazine Monitor Weekly and by your continued refusal to review the legality of the Interior Ministry’s October 1999 takeover of the independent station Sara Radio/TV.

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