LEADING TV NEWS SHOW CANCELED, ANCHOR FIRED
New York, June 2, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned by reports that the popular news program “Namedni” (Recently) on the television channel NTV was canceled under government pressure. Leonid Parfyonov, anchor of the show, was also fired, according to local and international reports. On Sunday, May 30, Parfyonov was scheduled to air…
European Court of Human Rights condemns Russia in media case
New York, May 20, 2004—The European Court of Human Rights ruled yesterday that Russian authorities used a politically motivated criminal investigation in 2000 to try to take over the print and broadcast operations of Russian media mogul Vladimir Gusinsky. The Strasbourg, France–based court said that Russian authorities illegally harassed and arrested Gusinsky on charges of…
Turkmen journalist brutally beaten in his Moscow apartment
New York, May 12, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is appalled by the brutal April 30 attack on Mukhamed Berdiyev, a correspondent for the Turkmen Service of the U.S. government–funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), who was beaten by unknown assailants in his apartment in Moscow. He was discovered lying unconscious three days later…
REUTERS JOURNALIST KILLED IN CHECHNYA BOMBING
New York, May 10, 2004—Adlan Khasanov, a cameraman working for the British news agency Reuters, was killed by a bomb yesterday morning in Russia’s southern republic of Chechnya, according to local and international press reports. The powerful bomb exploded at approximately 10:35 a.m. in the Dynamo Stadium in the Chechen capital of Grozny, where Khasanov…
Fixer abducted in February has been released
March 18, 2004, New York—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has learned that Ruslan Soltakhanov, a fixer and driver working for Atlanta-based Cox Newspapers, was released from captivity on March 12 after being abducted in February. On February 13, several unidentified men abducted Soltakhanov from his home in Mozdok, just west of Chechnya in North…
Attacks on the Press 2003: Preface
By Ted KoppelThis is not a good day. As I write, pop star Michael Jackson has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct with a minor. His residence cum theme park, “Neverland,” has been invaded by police, sheriff’s deputies, and a team of forensic specialists. I am not empathizing with Michael Jackson, although this…
Attacks on the Press 2003: Introduction
By Ann CooperIn real-time images, the war in Iraq splashed across television screens worldwide in March, with thousands of journalists covering the U.S.-led war against Saddam Hussein and his regime. The conflict and its aftermath had a far-reaching impact on the press and its ability to report the news, with the reverberations felt in some…