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…
Reporters shot, shelled, robbed while covering Russian invasion of Ukraine
Paris, March 9, 2022 – Russian and Ukrainian authorities must ensure that members of the press can cover the war in Ukraine safely and freely, and Russian forces must refrain from targeting journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Since late February, Russian troops have injured at least three journalists from international outlets, and…
CPJ calls on Ukraine to exempt journalists from compulsory military service
New York, March 7, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday called on Ukrainian authorities to exempt journalists from the general mobilization of all Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60. “Ukrainian authorities must allow the country’s journalists to continue covering the war and defending the truth, and exempt them from compulsory military…
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…
Russia’s silencing of Ekho Moskvy forces a sad end on a brave broadcaster
Russia’s silencing of Ekho Moskvy over its Ukraine war coverage marks an end to an iconic radio station with a brave history dating back to the late Soviet era. Even in the heady final years of glasnost (“openness”), hiding truth from the Soviet public was pretty easy for the country’s Communist leaders. When hardline Communists…
‘Not just statistics’: Ukrainska Pravda editor Sevgil Musaieva on the risks and challenges of covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Twice a day, Sevgil Musaieva, chief editor at Kyiv-based independent news site Ukrainska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth), checks in with her staff, now scattered around the country for security reasons as they report amid Russian missile and rocket attacks. Musaieva knows the high stakes involved in reporting the truth. Two of the outlet’s journalists were killed in retaliation for…
Ukrainian camera operator Yevhenii Sakun killed in Russian shelling of Kyiv TV tower
New York, March 2, 2022 – In response to reports that Ukrainian journalist Yevhenii Sakun was killed on Tuesday, March 1, when Russian forces shelled a television tower in Kyiv, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Ukrainian journalist Yevhenii Sakun, who was…