Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations

(CJES/IFEX) – The crew of NSN-Balashov, an independent television station covering the Saratov region, were expelled from the Assembly of Deputies of the Balashov District on 1 December 2006. The journalists were accused of discrediting the work of the deputies and regional administration. NSN-Balashov editor Elena Sherbakova told CJES their staff were not only prevented […]

(CJES/IFEX) – The following is a joint action signed by 10 IFEX members: His Excellency President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin President of the Russian Federation g. Moskva, Kreml Russian Federation Fax: +7 095 206 85 10/+7 095 206 51 73/+7 095 230 24 08 Your Exellency, We, the undersigned members of the International Freedom of Expression […]

(CJES/IFEX) – On 14 November 2006, in the city of Abakan, acting on a matter affecting him personally, a police officer from the Abakan public prosecutor’s office, Lieutenant Sergey Burdogov, visited the office of Michael Afanasyev, and prepared an official report on an administrative offence allegedly committed there. Abakan is located in Khakassia, a republic […]

(CJES/IFEX) – In the city of Krasnoyarsk, security staff for Krasnoyarsk Region Governor Andrey Khloponin’s residence detained the film crews of five local broadcasting companies – TVK (TV Krasnoyarsk); GTRK (the Krasnoyarsk State broadcasting company); Telesphere channel; Afontovo channel; and ORTV channel – accusing them of trespassing on the grounds of the governor’s residence. The […]

(CJES/IFEX) – On 1 November 2006, in the city of Pyatigorsk in Stavropol region, an individual identifying himself as a local deputy blocked the vehicle in which three journalists were traveling, then insulted, assaulted, and threatened the three journalists within. The victims of the attack were correspondent Julia Bychkova and cameraman Roman Agaev, both of […]

(CJES/IFEX) – On 30 October 2006, in the city of Barnaul in Altay region, Sergey Teplyakov, head of the news department of “Altayskaya Pravda” (“The Altay Truth”) newspaper and reporter for “Izvestiya” newspaper, was summoned to the regional Federal Security Service (FSB) office. According to the Barnaul-based information agency Amic.ru, the journalist was questioned regarding […]

(CJES/IFEX) – On 1 November 2006, in the city of Chita (in Chita region), Andrey Sharonov, a camera operator with the state broadcasting company Chita, was harassed by security guards and forced to delete his footage, while attempting to report on a fire. Igor Kungurov, chief of Chita television’s information programming, told CJES that Sharonov […]

(CJES/IFEX) – An Ivanovo magistrate has sentenced Vladimir Rakhmankov, editor-in-chief of the Internet publication Kursiv, to pay a fine of 20,000 rubles (approx. US$745) for publishing his article entitled “Putin as a Phallic Symbol of Russia” on the Kursiv website, Ekho Moskvy radio station has reported. The criminal case against Rakhmankov was initiated by the […]

(CJES/IFEX) – Vasily Melnichenko, a journalist and human rights activist, was beaten in the village of Galkinskoye, in Sverdlovsk region, on 22 October 2006, by a former public servant whose illicit activities the journalist has criticised. Melnichenko said the attack occurred during a meeting addressing the bankruptcy of one of the village’s farms. The assailant […]

(CJES/IFEX) – The radio station Ekho Moskvy has reported that the Oryol region’s prosecutor’s office has issued a warning to the newspaper “Orlovskiye Novosti” over a photograph it published of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The paper’s deputy editor-in-chief, Tatyana Kuzmina, told CJES that the warning was issued over a photograph published in the newspaper as […]

(CJES/IFEX) – A series of searches was conducted at the apartments of staff members and others associated with the newspaper “Permsky Obozrevatel” on the morning of 27 September 2006. Among those who had their apartments searched were the newspaper’s driver and systems administrator, Editor Tatyana Sokolova told CJES. The law enforcement officials who conducted the […]

(CJES/IFEX) – Ulan-Ude Mayor Gennady Aidayev has asked the prosecutor’s office of the Republic of Buryatia to initiate a criminal case against Inna Savchenkova, editor of the newspaper “Nomer Odin”, whom he accuses of slander. The city of Ulan-Ude is the capital of the Buryat Republic, located in southeast Russia. Savchenkova has told CJES that […]

(CJES/IFEX) – Seventy thousand copies of “Vechernyaya Perm” newspaper were seized by law enforcement officials in the town of Berezniki, Perm region on 21 September 2006. At first, the car carrying the papers, which were intended for circulation in Berezniki, was blocked by security guards from the private security firm Sherif. It is not known […]

(CJES/IFEX) – On 18 September 2006, Ekaterina Archikova, correspondent for the Moscow-based informational radio station City FM, was beaten in the “Luzhniki” market as she was investigating a fire then in progress. “The editorial office was informed that there was a fire in market, so I went to prepare a report,” Archikova told CJES. “I […]

(CJES/IFEX) – New facts about the pressure on “Ivanovo Press”, a newspaper published in Ivanovo, emerged on 22 August 2006. The newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Mr. Valery Smetanin, informed CJES that he was invited to the office of the deputy of Ivanovo region governor, Mr. Sergey Pakhomov. The invitation followed a series of critical articles about activities […]

(CJES/IFEX) – The editorial staff of the newspaper “Permsky Obozrevatel” (“Permian Observer”), based in the city of Perm, has announced that the newspaper is facing the possible threat of closure and expressed its concern for the future of its employees. Acting editor-in-chief Ms. Tatyana Sokolova explained to CJES that staff faces constant pressure from law […]