Committee to Protect Journalists - Ukraine tag:cpj.org,2008-09-16://1 2012-02-19T23:35:22Z Movable Type 4.34-en Attacks on the Press in 2011: Fighting Impunity tag:cpj.org,2012://1.17647 2012-02-22T04:35:55Z 2012-02-19T23:35:22Z The global rate of unpunished murders remains stubbornly high at just below 90 percent. Senior officials in the most dangerous countries are finally acknowledging the problem -- the first step in what will be a long, hard battle. By Elisabeth Witchel... Committee to Protect Journalists The global rate of unpunished murders remains stubbornly high at just below 90 percent. Senior officials in the most dangerous countries are finally acknowledging the problem -- the first step in what will be a long, hard battle. By Elisabeth Witchel

]]> Attacks on the Press in 2011: Ukraine tag:cpj.org,2012://1.17615 2012-02-21T05:55:00Z 2012-02-16T11:08:20Z The government failed to deliver on President Viktor Yanukovych's promises to investigate official harassment of news media and ensure justice in the 2000 murder of online journalist Georgy Gongadze. Prosecutors indicted former President Leonid Kuchma on abuse-of-office charges in connection with the Gongadze slaying, alleging that he had ordered... Committee to Protect Journalists The government failed to deliver on President Viktor Yanukovych's promises to investigate official harassment of news media and ensure justice in the 2000 murder of online journalist Georgy Gongadze. Prosecutors indicted former President Leonid Kuchma on abuse-of-office charges in connection with the Gongadze slaying, alleging that he had ordered subordinates to silence the journalist. But after the Constitutional Court found that a key audiotape was inadmissible, a trial court in Kyiv dismissed the case in December. The ongoing trial of Aleksei Pukach, the former Interior Ministry general charged with strangling Gongadze, was marked by irregularities, delays, and secrecy. The developments were seen as significant setbacks in the fight against impunity. As in past years, the domestic press faced persistent danger as reporters endured threats, physical attacks, and censorship. Investigators reported no progress in the case of Vasyl Klymentyev, an editor who went missing in 2010 after reporting on alleged local corruption. Kharkiv-based cable television carriers stopped carrying programming from the independent news outlet ATN in August, according to press reports. ATN said regional authorities pressured the carriers to drop its critical news coverage.

]]> Ukraine must prosecute Kuchma in Gongadze murder tag:cpj.org,2011://1.18222 2011-12-14T19:33:20Z 2011-12-14T20:29:30Z New York, December 14, 2011--Today's court ruling to scrap the case against former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma for allegedly ordering the 2000 murder of independent journalist Georgy Gongadze is a blow to press freedom, said the Committee to Protect Journalists.... Committee to Protect Journalists New York, December 14, 2011--Today's court ruling to scrap the case against former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma for allegedly ordering the 2000 murder of independent journalist Georgy Gongadze is a blow to press freedom, said the Committee to Protect Journalists.

]]> Gongadze suspect admits to killing, implicates Kuchma tag:cpj.org,2011://1.17800 2011-08-31T22:24:16Z 2011-09-01T01:56:07Z New York, August 31, 2011--A former general with the Ukrainian Interior Ministry testified in a Kyiv court on Tuesday that he killed journalist Georgy Gongadze in 2000 in a plot orchestrated by former President Leonid Kuchma and other top officials, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.... Committee to Protect Journalists Kuchma, under indictment, denies involvement in the Gongadze slaying. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)

New York, August 31, 2011--A former general with the Ukrainian Interior Ministry testified in a Kyiv court on Tuesday that he killed journalist Georgy Gongadze in 2000 in a plot orchestrated by former President Leonid Kuchma and other top officials, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.

]]> Gongadze murder suspect's trial should be open to public tag:cpj.org,2011://1.17730 2011-08-16T20:11:57Z 2011-08-16T20:20:01Z Committee to Protect Journalists New York, August 16, 2011--The Pechersky District Court in Kyiv must open to the public the ongoing trial against Aleksei Pukach, a former interior ministry general charged with the notorious 2000 killing of independent journalist Georgy Gongadze, the Committee to Protect Journalist said today. 

]]> Ukraine indicts Kuchma in Gongadze murder tag:cpj.org,2011://1.16985 2011-03-24T19:04:04Z 2011-03-24T20:59:25Z Committee to Protect Journalists Kuchma outside the prosecutor's office in Kyiv. (Reuters/Konstantin Chernichkin)

New York, March 24, 2011--Eleven years after the brutal murder of online journalist Georgy Gongadze, Ukrainian prosecutors today indicted former President Leonid Kuchma on abuse-of-office charges in connection with the slaying, local and international news reports said. 

]]> Ukraine to investigate Kuchma in Gongadze murder tag:cpj.org,2011://1.16977 2011-03-22T21:08:39Z 2011-03-23T20:25:44Z New York, March 22, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes news that Ukrainian prosecutors have opened an investigation into allegations that former President Leonid Kuchma had a role in the 2000 abduction and murder of independent journalist Georgy Gongadze, left. CPJ called on Ukrainian investigators today to clarify the... Committee to Protect Journalists AP

New York, March 22, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes news that Ukrainian prosecutors have opened an investigation into allegations that former President Leonid Kuchma had a role in the 2000 abduction and murder of independent journalist Georgy Gongadze, left. CPJ called on Ukrainian investigators today to clarify the focus of the investigation and conduct it in a thorough and transparent manner.

]]> CPJ alarmed by manipulation of Gongadze investigation tag:cpj.org,2011://1.16879 2011-03-02T21:41:46Z 2011-03-02T21:45:07Z Committee to Protect Journalists AP
New York, March 2, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by the recent actions of Ukrainian authorities that threaten to upend progress in the 10-year-old investigation into the September 2000 abduction and murder of independent journalist Georgy Gongadze, at left. The Kyiv Court of Appeals ruled today to reject a second appeal by Myroslava Gongadze, the journalist's widow, against the prosecutorial downgrading of the status of the murder from a contract killing to a "killing on verbal command."
]]> CPJ concerned by irregularities in Ukraine's Gongadze case tag:cpj.org,2011://1.16870 2011-03-01T21:29:47Z 2011-03-01T21:35:13Z Dear President Yanukovych: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports of irregularities in the decade-long investigation into the 2000 kidnapping and murder of Internet journalist Georgy Gongadze. Particularly, CPJ is disturbed by efforts to derail progress in the investigation and peg the ultimate responsibility for the murder on a dead suspect, while other leads in the case languish. Since assuming office in March, you have publicly stated your commitment to press freedom in Ukraine. The case of Georgy Gongadze is a litmus test for you and your administration, and we urge you to ensure that none of the perpetrators of his kidnapping and killing are allowed to walk free. Committee to Protect Journalists Attacks on the Press 2010: Europe and Central Asia Analysis tag:cpj.org,2011://1.16583 2011-02-15T05:52:00Z 2011-02-15T14:41:29Z 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... Committee to Protect Journalists On the Runet, Old-School Repression Meets New Russian President Dmitry Medvedev launched a blog but the Kremlin promised to tightly control who can comment on it. (Reuters)

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 the Union address in November 2008, declaring that "freedom of speech should be backed up by technological innovation" and that no government official "can obstruct discussion on the Internet."

]]> Attacks on the Press 2010: Ukraine tag:cpj.org,2011://1.16591 2011-02-15T05:08:00Z 2011-01-25T00:49:51Z h7 {float:none;width:auto;height:auto;font-family:sans-serif;font-weight:normal; margins:5px;} Top Developments • Provincial reporters targeted in a series of attacks; editor reported missing. • Television journalists continue to face heavy political influence. Key Statistic 1: Mastermind identified in Gongadze murder. Prosecutors stir controversy by blaming only a dead official for the plot. The disappearance of... Committee to Protect Journalists Top Developments
• Provincial reporters targeted in a series of attacks; editor reported missing.
• Television journalists continue to face heavy political influence.

Key Statistic
1: Mastermind identified in Gongadze murder. Prosecutors stir controversy by blaming only a dead official for the plot.

The disappearance of a critical editor, a series of violent attacks, and several instances of politicized government regulation fueled deteriorating press freedom conditions. Authorities brought charges against another suspect in the 2000 murder of editor Georgy Gongadze, but they ended their long investigation amid controversy by naming a dead official as the sole mastermind.

]]> Ukraine says late minister ordered Gongadze murder tag:cpj.org,2010://1.16069 2010-09-16T21:04:43Z 2010-09-16T21:09:46Z Committee to Protect Journalists AP
New York, September 16, 2010--On Tuesday, Ukrainian prosecutors announced that the late Interior Minister Yuri Kravchenko had ordered the 2000 murder of muckraking Internet journalist Georgy Gongadze, left, whose decapitated body was found 10 years ago today in a forest outside Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

Ukraine's prosecutor-general's office said in a statement that investigators have finished their probe. The investigation identified General Aleksei Pukach, who was arrested in July 2009, as the gunman, and Kravchenko, as the mastermind of the journalist's murder. Pukach is in custody and currently studying the case file against him, local reports said.
]]> Journalist goes missing in eastern Ukraine tag:cpj.org,2010://1.15899 2010-08-18T22:08:19Z 2010-08-18T22:17:17Z Committee to Protect Journalists Novyi Stil (New Style), who has been missing for a week. ]]> Attacks on the Press 2009: Ukraine tag:cpj.org,2010://1.13897 2010-02-16T05:10:00Z 2010-02-12T15:58:32Z Committee to Protect Journalists http://cpj.org/ Top Developments
• Broadcast media face strong political pressure.
• Ex-Interior Ministry official arrested in Gongadze murder.

Key Statistic
5: Years since the Orange Revolution. Optimism has since dimmed.

A deep recession, tensions with neighboring Russia, and a coming presidential election placed greater stress on the country’s already weak and fractured political leadership. While the media remained freer and more pluralistic than in most post-Soviet countries, journalists struggled to report on widespread government corruption and other abuses. A chaotic and sometimes dangerous environment for journalists increased the prevalence of self-censorship.

]]> Independent broadcasters harassed, taken off air in Ukraine tag:cpj.org,2009://1.13827 2009-11-20T16:27:11Z 2009-11-20T16:31:39Z New York, November 20, 2009—Authorities in Odessa, Ukraine, should immediately cease harassment of independent and pro-opposition broadcasters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Officials from the Odessa Public Utility Service and mayor’s office have been physically obstructing the work of several local television and radio stations on the grounds... Committee to Protect Journalists New York, November 20, 2009—Authorities in Odessa, Ukraine, should immediately cease harassment of independent and pro-opposition broadcasters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Officials from the Odessa Public Utility Service and mayor’s office have been physically obstructing the work of several local television and radio stations on the grounds of alleged building renovation, according to local news reports. 

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