Russia extends detention of RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva by 2 months
New York, December 1, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Russian court’s decision in a closed-door hearing on Friday to extend the pretrial detention of U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until February 5, 2024. “Each day Alsu Kurmasheva spends in Russian detention on absurd criminal charges is another blow to press freedom and journalists’ rights…
Russian authorities deport Kazakh journalist Vladislav Ivanenko ahead of court hearing
New York, November 14, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Russian authorities to explain why Kazakh journalist Vladislav Ivanenko was deported ahead of a court hearing over his residence permit. On November 9, police arrested Ivanenko, a journalist with the independent regional news website Properm.ru, at his home in the central Russian city of…
‘Our kids miss their mom’: Husband of journalist Alsu Kurmasheva speaks out about her detention in Russia
Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor with the Tatar-Bashkir service of U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, has been in Russian detention since October 18, when authorities in the western city of Kazan charged her with failure to register herself as a foreign agent. If found guilty, Kurmasheva faces up to…
In Georgia, poetry, a prison visit, and a pardon for Nika Gvaramia
On the road to Rustavi Prison #12, where the only journalist jailed in Georgia is still serving out his 3.5-year sentence, Sofia Liluashvili is speaking to me about poetry. Liluashvili is the wife of Georgian journalist Nika Gvaramia, who spent more than a year behind bars before a pardon by President Salome Zurabishvili led to…
‘No other option to survive’: After one year of war, Ukrainian journalists are equipped for the long haul
In January, Ukrainian photojournalist Anton Skyba rushed to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine to report on a town near the front line, Chasiv Yar. He came prepared. In a phone call with CPJ, he ticked off the items in his suitcase: personal protective equipment, including a helmet and an individual first aid kit with a chest patch “for…
Italian journalist Claudio Locatelli injured while covering war in Ukraine
Paris, December 21, 2022 – Russian and Ukrainian authorities should swiftly investigate the attack on Italian journalists Claudio Locatelli and Niccolò Celesti and ensure that members of the press are not targeted while reporting on the war in Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Monday, December 19, a car transporting Locatelli, an…
Committee to Protect Journalists honors reporters who defy war and repression
New York, November 18, 2022—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) paid tribute Thursday evening to inspirational journalists from Cuba, Iraqi Kurdistan, Ukraine, and Vietnam by presenting them with the 2022 International Press Freedom Awards (IPFA). CPJ’s board of directors also honored Russian editor and publisher Galina Timchenko with its 2022 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award. The event was held…
Russian shelling damages office of Zorya newspaper in Ukraine
Paris, July 25, 2022 — Ukrainian and Russian authorities should ensure that artillery attacks do not damage civilian infrastructure, including media offices, and let the press report freely and safely on the war in Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On July 15, Russian forces shelled the editorial office of Zorya, a newspaper…
French journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff killed in Ukraine
New York, May 30, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply saddened by the death of French journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff while covering the war in Ukraine, CPJ Executive Director Robert Mahoney said Monday. Leclerc-Imhoff, a reporter for French broadcast BFMTV, was reported killed on Monday, May 30, after an armored evacuation vehicle came under “enemy…
Journalist Iryna Danylovych charged, detained by Russian authorities in Crimea
Paris, May 16, 2022 — Russian authorities in Ukraine’s Crimea must drop all charges against journalist Iryna Danylovych, release her immediately, and cease prosecuting journalists for their reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On May 11, Danylovych, a Crimea-based journalist who went missing on April 29, was found by her lawyer in a…