Europe & Central Asia

2003

  

Court declares missing journalist dead

New York, December 2, 2003—Last week, a district court in the Belarus’ capital, Minsk, declared journalist Dmitry Zavadsky officially dead. Zavadsky, a 29-year-old cameraman for the Russian public television network ORT, disappeared in July 2000. According to local press reports, the cameraman’s widow, Svetlana Zavadskaya, initiated the judicial process in October 2003. Zavadsky’s body was…

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Court releases imprisoned journalist

New York, November 13, 2003—The Chelyabinsk Regional Court today amended the sentence of imprisoned journalist German Galkin from one year in jail to one year of probation, according to local press reports. Authorities immediately released Galkin from prison in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk. Galkin, publisher of Rabochaya Gazeta and deputy chief editor of Vecherny…

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Supreme Court upholdsacquittal of journalists on state secrets charge

New York, November 10, 2003—Russia’s Supreme Court upheld the acquittal last week of two journalists from the Perm-based independent newspaper Zvezda who were charged with revealing state secrets. Yuri Shmidt, the journalists’ lawyer, said that the district court’s ruling was so strongly supportive of the journalists that it would have been impossible for the Supreme…

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Constitutional Court abolishes part of restrictive election law

New York, October 30, 2003—Russia’s Constitutional Court today struck down part of a law that sought to strengthen state regulation over independent media outlets, particularly coverage of election campaigns. According to local and international press reports, the court ruled that a sub-section of Article 48 of the law “On Fundamental Guarantees of Voters Rights” is…

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CPJ Releases New Journalist Security Handbook

New York, October 29, 2003–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today released an updated version of its journalist security handbook, titled “On Assignment: A Guide to Reporting in Dangerous Situations.” This new edition, which is available in hard copy and online (read or download PDF), draws on lessons learned in the most recent war in…

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CPJ concerned about investigation into journalist’s murder

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the investigation into the October 9 murder of Aleksei Sidorov, editor-in-chief of the independent daily Tolyattinskoye Obozreniye. We believe that investigators have prematurely determined that the crime was unrelated to Sidorov’s journalistic work.

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Police crackdown on media amid presidential elections

New York, October 17, 2003—Police and security forces attacked and wounded dozens of journalists covering two opposition rallies held in the Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku. According to local and international press reports, the Musavat Party organized several rallies to protest the outcome of presidential elections held on Wednesday, October 15.

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Ataques y amenazas contra medios y periodistas, mientras la crisis política se intensifica

Nueva York, 17 de octubre del 2003–El Comité para la Protección de los Periodistas (CPJ, por sus siglas en inglés) está sumamente alarmado por los ataques y amenazas contra medios de prensa y periodistas esta semana durante las masivas protestas antigubernamentales que amenazan con derrocar al gobierno boliviano. El miércoles 15 de octubre, atacantes no…

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF INDEPENDENT DAILY MURDERED

New York, October 10, 2003—Aleksei Sidorov, the editor-in-chief of the independent daily Tolyatinskoye Obozreniye, was murdered yesterday in Togliatti, a city situated on the Volga River 600 miles (960 kilometers) east of Moscow. Sidorov is the second editor-in-chief of Tolyatinskoye Obozreniye to be murdered in the last 18 months. His predecessor, Valery Ivanov, was shot…

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Two journalists die in car accident while on assignment

New York, October 7, 2003—CPJ mourns the loss of a television crew and their driver from the national state broadcaster Channel One, who died in a car accident in the Siberian region of Tyumen while on assignment. Channel One journalist Natalia Astafyeva, cameraman Sergei Isakov, and driver Yuri Selyanov died on Saturday when their car…

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2003