European Commission must press Russia on impunity
New York, February 23, 2011–In advance of key meetings on Thursday between the European Commission and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the Committee to Protect Journalists urges European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to address Russia’s record of rampant impunity in resolving the killings of journalists.
Attacks on the Press 2010: Europe and Central Asia Analysis
On the Runet, Old-School Repression Meets New By Nina Ognianova and Danny O’Brien Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has often talked about the importance of a free press and free Internet, telling reporters before his election that the Web “guarantees the independence of mass media.” He explicitly tied the two together in his first State of…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Russia
Top Developments • Some progress in journalist murder probes, but attacks continue with impunity. • FSB given broad detention powers in measure that targets critical media. Key Statistic 5: Unsolved journalist murder cases that Russia’s top investigators pledged to reopen. The nation’s top investigative agency reopened a series of unsolved journalist murders and reported progress…
Guardian correspondent expelled from Russia
New York, February 8, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Russian authorities today to allow Luke Harding, Moscow correspondent for the U.K. Guardian, to return to Russia and resume his work. Harding, at left, was refused entry to Russia on Saturday.The journalist had temporarily returned to London in the fall to report on U.S.…
Russian media combats false piracy prosecutions
Some good news out of Samara. As we’ve reported previously, trumped-up piracy accusations have been frequently used in Russia to intimidate independent media. Sergei Kurt-Adzhiyev, a Russian editor, has spent years fighting piracy prosecutions against himself and his publications in the region. This week, he was declared not guilty. Russia’s Finance Ministry was ordered to…
Combating impunity, from commitment to action
This afternoon we sent out a press release announcing a $100,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to support CPJ’s Global Campaign Against Impunity. The campaign enters its third year in 2011, having achieved some significant successes, including high-level commitment to prosecute the killers of journalist in the Philippines and Russia.…
Protecting yourself from denial-of-service attacks
It’s my second link to a report by Hal Roberts (and others at the Berkman Center) in as many days, but I worry that this this detailed document on denial-of-service (DOS) and hacking attacks on independent media and human rights groups might get missed in the holiday season. The news headlines in the last few…
CPJ seeks progress in solving Russia’s Togliatti murders
New York, December 8, 2010–Authorities with Russia’s Investigative Committee must show evidence that they are legitimately investigating the consecutive murders of two editors of the independent newspaper Tolyattinskoye Obozreniye, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Investigative Committee of Samara Region–which has jurisdiction over the cases of Valery Ivanov (killed in April 2002) and Aleksei Sidorov (killed in October 2003)–announced…