Journalist faces possible criminal charges for comparing Putin to Hitler
(CJES/IFEX) – On 18 February 2008, the Federal Service for the Supervision of Mass Media, Communication and Protection of Cultural Heritage (Rossvyazokhrankultura) asked the prosecutor’s office to file criminal charges against Igor Averkiyev, the author of an article entitled “Putin: Our Good Hitler,” and the newspaper “Za Cheloveka”, which published the article. The article was […]
Editor beaten for distributing pamphlet; photojournalist beaten, injured for photographing her beating
(CJES/IFEX) – On 12 January 2008, during a session of the Council of Deputies of the city of Serpukhov, in Moscow Oblast province, an editor was beaten for distributing a political pamphlet, and then a press photographer was beaten for photographing the incident. During the session, Larissa Zhuravskaja, deputy head of the anticorruption commission and […]
Government influence over media kept public uninformed during recent elections, says CJES
SOURCE: Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations (CJES), Moscow (CJES/IFEX) – The following is an abridged version of a 20 December 2007 CJES press release: Elections of the absurd Coverage of the recent Duma poll and forthcoming presidential race suggests that Russian media, increasingly, only functions to endorse the government line, writes Oleg Panfilov On […]
Journalist on suspended sentence harassed by authorities, risks imprisonment
(CJES/IFEX) – The editor-in-chief of the Internet publication “Novy Fokus”, Mikhail Afanasyev, risks imprisonment, the interregional human rights association AGORA has reported. The journalist received a suspended prison sentence for slander in May 2006. All in all, ten criminal cases (all connected to his professional activities) were opened against the journalist over the past three […]
Government charges newspaper with “dissemination of extremist materials” over Putin cartoon
(CJES/IFEX) – The Federal Service for the Supervision of Mass Media, Communication and Protection of Cultural Heritage (Rossvyazokhrankultura) in the Saratov region filed a lawsuit against the region’s newspaper “Saratovsky Reporter” on 19 September 2007. The paper is charged with “dissemination of extremist materials.” In late August, the paper ran a cartoon portraying President Vladimir […]
Newspaper accused by authorities of “extremism” over article on ethnic tensions in Republic of Yakutia
(CJES/IFEX) – The newspaper “Izvestiya” reported on 28 August 2007 that it had received an official warning from the Federal Service for Control over Mass Media, Communications and Cultural Heritage Protection (Rossvyazokhrankultura), in which the newspaper is accused of publishing “information containing indications of extremism.” The warning is in response to a report by “Izvestiya” […]
Ruling party boycotts three regional newspapers over critical coverage
(CJES/IFEX) – Russia’s ruling party, United Russia, has decided to boycott three newspapers published in Stavropol territory: “Stavropolskiye Gubernskiye Vedomosti”, “Moskovsky Komsomolets” (regional edition), and “Vecherny Stavropol”. This decision was announced at a press conference organized by a group of United Russia’s top functionaries in Stavropol in early September 2007. The Stavropol division of the […]
Political party wins defamation suit against “Saratovsky Rasklad” newspaper; publisher and editor-in-chief fined
(CJES/IFEX) – The Saratov Volzhsky District Court has ruled in favour of the plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by the Saratov regional section of the United Russia party against the newspaper “Saratovsky Rasklad”. The court found the information stated in the article run by the newspaper on 9 August 2007 to be untrue and defamatory […]
Ruling party’s defamation action against newspaper intended to intimidate press prior to elections, says CJES
(CJES/IFEX) – The Saratov regional division of the United Russia party has announced its intention to file a libel lawsuit against the newspaper “Saratovsky Rasklad”, alleging that an article in the newspaper slandered Vyacheslav Volodin, the deputy speaker of the State Duma and secretary of the presidium of the general council of the United Russia […]
Government minister forces journalist to leave meeting
(CJES/IFEX) – Alexandra Srogonova, a journalist with the “Listok” newspaper, was made to leave a meeting held by Altai Republic Finance Minister Svetlana Gashkina in Gorno-Altaisk, Altai, on 13 August 2007. The minister ordered the journalist to leave, the REGNUM information agency reported. The meeting addressed the provision of apartments to disabled housing investors, “Listok” […]
Blogger faces criminal charges over on-line writings about law enforcement officials
(CJES/IFEX) – The Syktyvkar prosecutor’s office (Komi Republic) has filed criminal charges against Internet blogger Savva Terentyev for allegedly violating Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The article refers to “fanning hatred or a feud” and “belittling a person’s dignity”. The charges were brought against Terentyev over a posting on the […]
Against expert testimony, court extends journalist’s forced internment in psychiatric hospital
(CJES/IFEX) – A court of the town of Apatity, in Murmansk region, recently considered the issue of extending the treatment of journalist Larisa Arap in the Apatity psychiatric hospital. Despite the recommendation made by an independent psychiatric commission, which had come to Apatity from Moscow on the initiative of Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin, […]
Editor attacked by police officer, knocked unconscious, calls for proper investigation
(CJES/IFEX) – Mikhail Afanasyev, editor-in-chief of the Internet magazine “Novy Focus”, has filed a complaint with the Abakan City Court about the actions taken by investigators from the Interior Affairs Department, the prosecutor’s office and the prosecutor of Abakan, the capital of the Republic of Khakasiya. The complaint states that the law enforcement agencies did […]
Newspaper issue faces publishing, distribution difficulties, editor-in-chief questioned
(CJES/IFEX) – The 20 July 2007 edition of “Mordovia Segodnya”, an independent weekly newspaper published in the city of Saransk, the capital of the central Russian republic of Mordovia, was devoted to the recent arrest of the paper’s founder, editor Anatoly Sardayev (see IFEX alert of 19 July 2007). On the front page, the words […]
Journalist and opposition activist forcibly confined in psychiatric hospital
(CJES/IFEX) – Larisa Arap, a member of the opposition movement United Civil Front, has been forcibly hospitalized in a Murmansk psychiatric clinic. Yelena Vasilyeva, the head of the movement’s Murmansk division, told CJES Arap’s hospitalization occurred following the publication of her article on the city’s psychiatric clinics in a special edition of the movement’s newspaper. […]
Amid irregularities, court finds newspapers guilty of “plotting to defame” businessman
(CJES/IFEX) – The Court of Cassation of the Moscow City Court has found the newspapers, “Saratovsky Vzglyad”, “Moskovsky Komsomolets v Saratove” and “Novyye Vremena” guilty of plotting to defame businessman Roman Pipiya, “Kommersant” reported. The Moscow City Court issued that ruling after considering an appeal filed by the Saratov media organizations and one of the […]