Photographer covering Greenpeace protest held in Russia
New York, September 27, 2013–Russian authorities should immediately release a freelance photographer who was detained nine days ago while covering a Greenpeace demonstration, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court on Thursday ordered Denis Sinyakov to be held for two months pending an investigation into accusations of piracy, news reports said.
CPJ, HRW write to future IOC president, receive response
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch have jointly called on the six presidential candidates of the International Olympics Committee to ensure that future host countries of the Olympic Games fully comply with human rights principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter, including press freedom and non-discrimination.
Olympics: Next IOC Leader Should Back Rights Reforms
New York, August 23, 2013–The next president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should ensure that future host countries comply with human rights in full accordance with the Olympic Charter, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said today. On August 2, 2013, Human Rights Watch and CPJ sent a letter to…
CPJ calls for Aleksei Navalny’s release in Russia
New York, July 18, 2013–Russian authorities must free on appeal the anti-corruption blogger and opposition activist Aleksei Navalny, who was convicted on politicized charges of embezzlement today and sentenced to five years in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Navalny was jailed immediately after the verdict was announced, according to news reports.
Anniversaries of Russian journalist murders pile up
Last week, I was preparing to write a column about the anniversary of Paul Klebnikov’s murder. The American editor of Forbes-Russia was murdered contract-style nine years ago in Moscow at the age of 41. He had investigated connections between Russian business and organized crime, as well as ethnic and political tensions in Chechnya. Despite numerous…
Critical reporter murdered in Russia’s Dagestan
New York, July 9, 2013–Today’s murder of an editor in the volatile republic of Dagestan is a grim reminder that Russia is one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev, deputy editor of the independent news outlet Novoye Delo and a contributor to the…
The targeting of Russian blogger Aleksei Navalny
The trial of Aleksei Navalny is coming to an end at the Leninsky District Court in the river city of Kirov, 500 miles northeast of Moscow. Navalny, a charismatic 37-year-old lawyer, was propelled to fame through his activities as an anti-corruption blogger, activist, and a leader of Russia’s opposition movement. Most recently, he pledged to…
In Russia, Internet censorship ‘on a whim’
New York, June 26, 2013–Prosecution and court authorities in the central Russian city of Ulyanovsk should act immediately to rescind an order that blocks public access to an independent news site, among several others, in a case notably lacking in evidence, legal basis, and fair play, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Snowden travels trace a path of government hypocrisy
Edward Snowden’s global travels have highlighted the chasm between the political posturing and actual practices of governments when it comes to free expression. As is well known now, the former government contractor’s leaks exposed the widespread phone and digital surveillance being conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency, practices at odds with the Obama administration’s…