CPJ joins letter calling for sanctions on Russia not to restrict internet access
On March 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined 40 other civil society groups in a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, calling for his administration to ensure that sanctions imposed on Russia in retaliation for the country’s invasion of Ukraine do not interfere with Russians’ access to the internet. The letter notes that, as…
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….
Russian court sentences Crimean journalist Remzi Bekirov to 19 years in prison
New York, March 11, 2022 – In response to Russia’s recent sentencing of Crimean journalist Remzi Bekirov to 19 years in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “Russian authorities should immediately release Remzi Bekirov and all other Crimean journalists who became hostages of an occupying force in their homeland,”…
Opinion: How the West can help the media victims of Putin’s war
Russia’s independent journalists are fleeing. That’s not only a tragedy for Russians but also for the rest of us who need to know what the increasingly isolated leader of a nuclear superpower is doing. Since sending tanks into Ukraine on February 24, President Vladimir Putin has threatened to jail anyone who dares question the invasion…
Russian forces in Ukraine detain and harass journalists; authorities clamp down on Russian media
Paris, March 10, 2022 – Russian authorities must halt their campaign to stifle the domestic press, and the country’s armed forces should immediately cease harassing journalists covering the invasion of Ukraine, and ensure that the media can work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. This week, Russian forces in Ukraine have…
‘Censor yourself or don’t work at all’: Why squeezed Russian journalists are fleeing in droves
Last week, Taisia Bekbulatova, chief editor of Russian independent news site Holod, began frantically looking for plane tickets. Bekbulatova, who is based in Georgia, wanted to evacuate her Russia-based staff after the country passed legislation threatening up to 15 years in prison for the publication of “fake” information about the invasion of Ukraine. “It was apparent that the law was…
CPJ urges countries to give refuge to Russian journalists after Georgia refuses entry to Dozhd TV’s Mikhail Fishman
Washington, D.C., March 7, 2022 – Governments around the world should allow independent Russian journalists fleeing prosecution to enter their countries and find safe haven, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Saturday, March 5, authorities at Georgia’s Tbilisi International airport denied entry to Mikhail Fishman, a journalist for the now-shuttered independent Russian outlet…
CPJ: ‘Putin has plunged Russia into an information dark age’
New York, March 5, 2022– In response to the news of Russia’s recent “false information” legislation, internet blocks of social media websites, the shuttering of major independent media outlets, and the exodus of prominent global media outlets, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement on Saturday: “President Vladimir Putin has plunged Russia into…
‘There will be more repression’: Exiled Russian journalist Irina Borogan on Moscow’s censorship of Ukraine invasion
As the Russian military continues its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin is also fighting a different kind of battle at home in its attempts to quash independent news coverage and dissenting narratives about the attack it launched on February 24. Across Russia, journalists have been detained and their outlets investigated, blocked, and restricted from using social media. On…
Russia further blocks media outlets, social media
New York, March 4, 2022 – Russian authorities should allow all local and international media outlets and social media platforms to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Russian state media regulator Roskomnadzor on Friday, March 4, blocked access to several news websites, including those of BBC Russian, German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle,…