New York, October 24, 2001–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has denounced Prime Minister Milos Zeman for threatening to bankrupt the independent Prague-based weekly Respekt with a series of debilitating lawsuits in retaliation for its criticism of his government. Zeman announced on October 22 that his government was planning to file the suits against Respekt…
POLITICAL REFORMS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, along with the advent of democratic governments in Croatia and Serbia, brightened the security prospects for journalists in Central Europe and the Balkans. In contrast, Russian’s new government imposed press restrictions, and authoritarian regimes entrenched themselves in other countries of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Central Asia, further threatening…
WHILE CZECH JOURNALISTS HAVE GAINED EXTENSIVE FREEDOMS since the 1989 Velvet Revolution, Czech media continued to face pressure from both political and business interests last year. On December 20, the politically appointed supervisors of the state-run Czech Television network abruptly dismissed general director Dusan Chmelicek and appointed Jiri Hodac in his place. Hodac had resigned…