CPJ calls on Putin not to sign legislation
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide, is very concerned about a bill, titled “On Amendments and Addendums Brought into Certain Legislative Acts,” that was passed by the lower and upper houses of Russia’s parliament on June 18 and June 25, respectively. The bill, which seeks to strengthen state regulation over independent media outlets, particularly their coverage of election campaigns, currently awaits your approval.
Parliament approves restrictive legal amendments
New York, June 26, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is disappointed that the upper house of Russia’s Parliament, the Federation Council, approved a series of legal amendments on Wednesday, June 25, that could severely restrict the media’s ability to report on the December 2003 parliamentary elections and the March 2004 presidential elections. The lower…
Journalists who disappeared
CPJ research indicates that the following journalists have disappeared while doing their work. Although some of them are feared dead, no bodies have been found, and they are therefore not classified as “Killed.” If a journalist disappeared after being held in government custody, CPJ classifies him or her as “Imprisoned” as a way to hold…
Media Ministry closes national TV channel
New York, June 23, 2003—The Russian Media Ministry issued a decree on Saturday, June 21, pulling the independent national television channel TVS off the air at midnight, replacing it with Sport TV, a state-run sports channel. TVS, the only channel in Russia that has remained highly critical of the Kremlin, was paralyzed for months due…
Parliament passes restrictive legal amendments
New York, June 20, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is disappointed that the lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, passed a series of legal amendments on Wednesday, June 18, that would severely restrict the media’s ability to report on the December 2003 parliamentary elections and the February 2004 presidential elections. The bill,…
CPJ concerned about legislation
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide, is very concerned about a bill, titled “On Amendments and Addendums Brought into Certain Legislative Acts,” currently under consideration in the Russian Parliament. The bill, which is scheduled for a second–and possibly final–reading in the lower house of the Duma on June 11, seeks to strengthen state regulation over independent media outlets, particularly their coverage of election campaigns.
Supreme Court orders retrial of defendants previously acquitted of journalists murder
New York, May 28, 2003—The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court yesterday overturned the June 2002 acquittal of six men accused of organizing the 1994 murder of Dmitry Kholodov, a popular journalist for the Moscow newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets. The Supreme Court ruled that the Moscow Circuit Military Court had “failed to take all available evidence…
Local television journalist violently attacked
New York, May 19, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns today’s violent attack against Aleksandr Stetsun, a journalist with Ural Television Agency (TAU), an independent station in the city of Ekaterinburg, 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) east of the capital, Moscow, in the Ural Mountains. The attack occurred this morning while Stetsun was standing outside…
Popular radio station raided by police Journalists arrested
New York, May 7, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday’s police raid on the popular opposition radio station Krasnaya Armiya in the city of Noyabrsk, in Russia’s central Ural Region. The station was attacked after the City Election Committee annulled the results of Sunday, May 4, mayoral elections in four electoral districts, giving…
Four journalists die in helicopter crash
New York, May 5, 2003—CPJ mourns the death of four journalists killed on Saturday, May 3, when a large firefighting helicopter they were traveling in crashed in the Chita Region, some 3,000 miles east of the capital, Moscow, according to local and international press reports. Seven crewmen and a forest management official also died.