09 Aug 19 | Bahrain, Bahrain Letters, Campaigns -- Featured, Statements
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”108529″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]8 August 2019
Dear Amal Clooney,
We, the undersigned Bahraini and international non-governmental organisations, are writing to express our deep concern about the intensifying clampdown on freedom of expression in Bahrain since 2011, especially over the past two years. As the United Kingdom’s Special Envoy on Media Freedom, we hope that you can urge the UK government to abide by its stated commitment to protect journalists and promote free media and to press its ally, Bahrain, to respect freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
Freedom of Expression and Press Freedom restricted
The right to freedom of expression and press freedom are severely restricted in Bahrain and journalists, human rights defenders and activists are targeted for doing their human rights and journalism work. According to the Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ), six journalists are currently imprisoned in connection with their work. In addition, Reporters without Borders (RSF) has documented seven journalists who have had their citizenship revoked since 2011. Bahrain now sits 167th out of 180 countries in RSF’s Press Freedom Index for 2019, one place lower than in 2018.
The repression intensified in 2017, when the only independent newspaper, Al-Wasat, was forcibly closed down and its employees dismissed. That year, the Ministry of Information Affairs effectively blocked the license renewal of several journalists working for foreign news agencies. Photojournalists and reporters for the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and a cameraman for Reuters were all denied license renewal. Nazeeha Saeed, award winning correspondent for Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya and France24 was convicted and fined for working for international media outlets without a license. Those outlets, along with a coalition of press-freedom watchdogs, wrote to the King of Bahrain in April 2017 highlighting their concerns.
In Bahrain, criticising the King could result in conviction and a seven-year sentence as the government does not tolerate any form of dissent. Prominent human rights defender, Nabeel Rajab is serving a five-year sentence for using Twitter to expose torture in Bahrain’s Jau Prison and to criticise Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen. He was also charged for publishing an Op-ed in the New York Times. Opposition activist and high profile blogger, Dr Alduljalil Al-Singace, was jailed for life in 2011, when the government renewed its crackdown on peaceful dissent. In 2017, activist and blogger Najah Yusuf was sexually assaulted by the authorities and sentenced to three years in prison, partly for criticising the Bahrain Grand Prix on social media. Former Al-Wasat employee, Mahmood Al-Jazeeri, was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and stripped of his citizenship. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) declared him arbitrarily detained. Similarly, award-winning photojournalists Ahmed Humaidan and Sayed Ahmed Al-Mousawi continue to languish in prison with the latter also stripped of his citizenship. Photojournalist Hassan Qambar was sentenced to more than 100 years in prison over a “range of absurd charges” according to RSF, namely his coverage of local protests.
Cybercrime Law
We are dismayed that the Bahraini authorities are once again amending anti-terror and cybercrime laws to further criminalise political dissent and civil society activism. The situation is only worsening, following the government’s recent declaration that it intends to crackdown further on critical social media accounts and posts.
On 22 May 2019, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) accused Bahraini journalist Adel Marzooq of cybercrime for analysing politics in the region on Twitter. On 30 May 2019, Bahrain’s MoI announced that “those who follow inciting accounts that promote sedition and circulate their posts will be held legally accountable.” Two days later, a MoI official elaborated that “countering inciting social media accounts that promote sedition and threaten social fabric and civil peace was a national duty and part of the community partnership to protect the security and safety of the nation.”
Social media giant Twitter expressed concern about the Bahraini government’s recent declaration. In a tweet posted on 5 June 2019, Twitter stated that the implementation of such measures would “pose a significant risk to free expression and journalism” in the country. Twitter also provided advice to individuals who wished to view posts from specific accounts without having to follow them, in order to avoid the scrutiny of the Bahraini authorities.
Our hope is that Bahrain’s allies will be inspired by this principled action and follow suit in publicly condemning the growing crackdown on dissent. Regrettably, the UK is yet to take a strong public stance on the matter and instead provides its Gulf ally with unconditional political support, to the detriment of the Bahraini people.
Bahrain Ambassador to UK: Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammad Al Khalifa
During the time that the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the UK, Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammad Al Khalifa, has been in post, a number of smear campaigns targeting human rights defenders, activists, journalists and critics have been launched from the embassy in London.
Sheikh Fawaz is a member of the Bahraini royal family and was the president of the Information Affairs Authority (IAA) during the Arab spring, a time when the government systematically cracked down on human rights and civil society. The IAA regulates the state’s media channels and websites, including Bahrain TV and the Bahrain News Agency. The organisation was responsible for shutting down Al-Wasat, the only independent newspaper, leading to the censorship of the press and the deportation of foreign-national journalists and spreading hate speech through IAA-controlled TV stations. In 2009, the year before Sheikh Fawaz’s IAA presidency, Bahrain stood 119th in RSF’s Press Freedom Index. By the time his presidency ended in 2012, Bahrain had fallen to 165th place, attesting to Sheikh Fawaz’s devastating record and legacy on press freedom.
The Bahraini Embassy in London has escalated smear campaigns against human rights defender Nabeel Rajab and blogger Najah Yusuf, to whom they attributed tweets posted eight months after her conviction. The Embassy also justified the prosecution of journalist Nazeeha Saeed, blaming her for not renewing her own credentials as a foreign correspondent.
Despite this evidence being publicly available, the FCO responded to concerns raised about Sheikh Fawaz by a Member of Parliament by asserting that it “thoroughly reviews each State’s appointee as Head of Mission.”
Our Requests
It is evident that the British government prioritises its strategic relations with Bahrain over the right to freedom of expression and press freedom. While trade and security agreements made without a strong human rights component may appear expedient on the surface, in the long term a foreign policy that ignores human rights will likely encourage greater repression which in turn will undermine the UK’s international reputation.
In December 2018 you said that: “states should repeal criminal sanctions in laws that target speech like sedition, blasphemy and defamation, and they should narrow the scope of other laws that can easily be used to silence critical speech.” However, as long as Bahrain’s closest allies refuse to use their leverage to pursue these noble goals, they will remain impossible to achieve in the country.
In light of the above, we hope that you can use your position and access to the UK authorities to urge them to:
- Prevail on their Bahraini counterparts to release prisoners of conscience, including journalists, photojournalists and human rights defenders imprisoned solely for voicing their peaceful opinions, including specifically: Mahmoud Al-Jaziri; Ahmed Humaidan; Sayed Ahmed Al-Mosawi; Hassan Qambar; Najah Yusuf; Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace and Nabeel Rajab;
- Urge the Bahraini government to rescind the administrative ban on the activities of the independent newspaper, Al-Wasat;
- Urge the Bahraini government to allow visits of the Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Assembly to the country; and
- Call on the Bahraini government to lift the vague and overly broad cybercrime laws imposed to silence the right to freedom of expression and end legislation criminalising human rights, including criticism of the King.
We would particularly welcome any public statements you can make in support of freedom of expression in Bahrain.
Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours Sincerely,
- Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)
- Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)
- Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR)
- European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR)
- Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
- International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
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06 Aug 19 | Ukraine, Ukraine Incident Reports
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Index on Censorship’s Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project tracks press freedom violations in five countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Learn more.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”9 Incidents” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
Female journalist reports being followed
30 July 2019 — Oksana Sokolova, a ICTV TV channel presenter, reported being followed by unknown persons, the Institute of Mass Information reported.
“Am I Being followed again? Recently, I noticed that every time I have a meeting at a cafe, a young man is seated at a nearby table and looks intently at the phone screen without ordering anything,” Sokolova was quoted as saying on the ICTV Facebook page. She said that she would not have paid attention to these situations if she hadn’t been trailed in the past. Sokolova was forced to take a personal guard due to phone threats in 2014. A criminal case was opened by the police and the individual making threats was identified.
“I didn’t think I would have to contact the authorities again,” the TV presenter said about the latest incidents. She told ICTV that the individuals following her in recently have all been different but they behave in the same way.
Sokolova said she intends to file a complaint with the police.
Link(s): https://www.facebook.com/Fakty.ICTV/photos/a.141306902606734/2860449097359154/?type=3&theater
https://imi.org.ua/news/televeducha-ictv-oksana-sokolova-zvernet-sia-do-pravookhorontsiv-cherez-stezhennia-za-neiu/
Categories: Intimidation
Source of violation: Unknown
Court blocks access to two dozen websites
23 July 2019 — Pechersk District Court of Kyiv blocked access to Enigma.ua, a blogging platform and nearly 20 other websites, according to Detector Media.
In a statement, Enigma.ua, the site was blocked because of a published article that explored the connections between law enforcement and organised crime groups in targeting human rights defenders in the country. The court made its decision after a motion by prosecutors who are investigating a criminal case which the article addressed.
The National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization (NCCIR) reported that Pechersk District Court of Kyiv decided to block such sites as http:// go338.top, https://trident-ua.info, https://enigma.ua, https:blogs.korrespondent.net, http://seychas.press, http://www.netadvocate.org, https://compromat.ws, https://compromat.ws, https://sled-net-ua, http://ua-24.com, http://moscow-post.press, https://novindoosh.com, http://www.stalker-world.net, http://rospres.press, https://informator.news, http://ustav.press, http://www.ukrpress.info, http://www.stalker-world.net. Internet service providers of Ukraine must comply with the decision to block.
“We have already appealed to the lawyers and through court we will overturn this ruling and demand penalties for those who choose to block sites through a criminal case that has nothing to do with the resources and their owners,” said in a statement of Enigma.ua.
UPDATE: 2 August 2019 — An appeal was filed against the decision of the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv to block 18 information sites, IMI reported.
The interests of Enigma.ua website owner Volodymyr Pasika are represented by media lawyer Olexandr Burmahin, who is also the Human Rights Platform executive director. Digital Security Lab lawyers also joined to prepare the legal position in the case.
Burmahin said blocking of websites was a very dangerous precedent for freedom of speech and the dissemination of information online.
Link(s): https://imi.org.ua/news/oskarzheno-blokuvannia-nyzky-saytiv-za-rishenniam-pechers-koho-sudu/
https://detector.media/infospace/article/169446/2019-07-31-sud-zablokuvav-dostup-do-platformi-dlya-blogeriv-enigmaua/
https://enigma.ua/articles/bezpretsedentniy-nastup-na-svobodu-slova-v-ukraini-zablokovano-desyatki-nezalezhnikh-saytiv
https://nkrzi.gov.ua/index.php?r=site/index&pg=99&id=1749&language=uk
Categories: Subpoena / Court Order/ Lawsuits, Legal Measures
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
Politician sues Novoe Vremya weekly magazine
30 July 2019 — Politician Viktor Medvedchuk, the head of the political party Opposition Platform – For Life, sued Novoe Vremya weekly magazine, NV.ua reported.
The case of “protection of honour, dignity and business reputation and refutation of false information” will be considered by the Podil district court of Kyiv. The editorial board said it doesn’t have information which article prompted the politicians lawsuit.
Link(s): https://nv.ua/ukr/ukraine/events/medvedchuk-podav-do-sudu-na-nv-novini-ukrajini-50035068.html
Categories: Subpoena / Court Order/ Lawsuits
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
Press center attacked by far right activists, five people injured
30 July 2019 — About a dozen right-wing activists from Tradition and Order, a nationalist group, assaulted participants of a press conference and press center staff at the news agency Ukrinform in Kyiv, Hromadske reported.
The press conference was held by Serhiy Koshukov and Andriy Aksyonov, who are running for deputies in a single-member constituency number 50. At the beginning of the press conference, Koshukov said that about 500 votes had been stolen from him at the previous parliamentary election. After that, the press conference was interrupted by the attackers.
According to Interfax-Ukraine news agency, more than 10 people wearing t-shirts with “Tradition and Order” logos broke into the room. They smashed the glass in the room, broke the door, threw eggs at the press conference participants, poured water on those present at the press center, shouted “Down with the separatist Aksyonov.”
The far-rightists accused Aksyonov of being a citizen of the Russian Federation. Aksenov, in turn, claimed that he never had a Russian passport.
The police arrived about 20 minutes after the beginning of the assault. But the officers didn’t take any action, only observed what was happening, Interfax-Ukraine reported. In the presence of the police, the right-wing activists threw eggs at Aksyonov and unscrewed microphones. After that they left the premises shouting “Put Aksenov behind bars” and “Shame”. A police officer tried to draw up a protocol against one of them, but in response the far-rightist insulted the police and left.
According to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, five news agency employees asked for medical help as a result of the attack. Ukrinform employee Roman Hrabrov was assaulted from behind and roughly grabbed by the shoulder. Three far-rightists simultaneously assaulted press center employee Pavlo Negrey, beating him on his legs, back, face, head, and choking him. The assault left him with a trauma of his left eye and numerous bruises all over his body.
The names of other news agency staff affected by the attack were not disclosed.
According to preliminary estimates, material damage to Ukrinform press center exceeded 17,500 euro.
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine condemned the brutal attack on the staff of the leading news agency, and demanded severe punishment for the assaulters.
UPDATE: 1 August 2019 — The Kyiv police called the incident at Ukrinform “hooliganism”, IMI reported. On 30 July two of the invaders were taken into police custody to testify. The police also took the records from the CCTV cameras, the National Police reported.
UPDATE: 2 August 2019 — President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said it was necessary to investigate and severely punish the people who took part in the assault on Ukrinform.
Link(s):
https://imi.org.ua/news/zelens-kyy-pro-napad-na-ukrinform-treba-duzhe-zhorstko-karaty/
https://kyiv.npu.gov.ua/news/xuliganstvo/podiji-u-budivli-ukrinformu-slidchi-stolichnoji-policziji-kvalifikuvali-yak-xuliganstvo/
https://hromadske.ua/posts/u-kiyevi-na-pres-konferenciyu-shodo-50-go-okrugu-uvirvalisya-pravoradikali
https://imi.org.ua/news/u-kyievi-molodyky-uvirvalys-v-ukrinform-ta-zirvaly-preskonferentsiiu/
https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-society/2751615-policia-vidkrila-kriminalnu-spravu-za-faktom-napadu-na-ukrinform.html
https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/604581.html
http://nsju.org/index.php/article/8132
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury, Attack to Property
Source of violation: Unknown,
The Revizor cameraman assaulted
18 July 2019 — A cameraman working for The Revizor, a Noviy TV channel program, was assaulted by an unidentified person at the marketplace in Koblevo Mykolaiv region, IMI reported.
According to the police, the conflict arose between market traders and the TV crew during the filming. A man, dissatisfied with the fact that he was filmed, hit the cameraman in the face. The journalist, whose name wasn’t reported, fell to the ground, but after a medical examination, he refused to be hospitalized.
The police opened a criminal investigation under the articles “obstruction of journalists’ legal activities.”
The Revizor (auditor) – a teleproject on unexpected product quality checks.
Link(s):
https://fakty.ua/312207-v-koblevo-izbili-operatora-populyarnogo-teleshou-revizor-foto-video
https://imi.org.ua/news/u-koblevomu-nevidomyy-vdaryv-v-oblychchia-operatora-revizora/
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury
Source of violation: Unknown
TV building attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade
13 July 2019 – The main office of TV Channel 112 was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) in Kyiv around 3 am, the National Police reported.
The police were called to the scene at 3:40 am and discovered that the office building’s exterior had been damaged by an explosion. They found a grenade launcher at the scene. No fatalities or injuries had been reported, but the police classified the incident as an act of terrorism. They did not report having any suspects at the time.
According to TV Channel 112, the building’s security cameras recorded two unknown individuals at the scene of the attack. Kyiv police said they launched a search operation for the offenders.
A day before the attack Channel 112’s editorial board issued a statement calling on law enforcement agencies to protect them from “the arbitrariness of national radicals, who by intimidation and threats try to influence the editorial policy of the channel [and] force us to abandon world-wide broadcasting standards in favor of certain political interests”. The journalists reported receiving threats from right-wing organisations “recommending” that they stay at home on 13 July under threats of physical violence. A nationalist rally against the channel’s editorial policy was scheduled for 13 July.
Immediately after the attack, Channel 112 CEO Yehor Benkendorf appealed to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to condemn the incident. “You must state clearly and decisively that no one should use force against media in Ukraine,” Benkendorf said.
Channel 112 received a warning earlier last week from prosecutors over its plans to broadcast a documentary titled Revealing Ukraine by US filmmaker Oliver Stone, which included an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They linked the attack to the scheduled broadcast, and cancelled it, citing the decision of their international editorial board.
Channel 112 has come under pressure from nationalist groups since it was purchased last year by Taras Kozak, a close ally of controversial Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, often criticised for his pro-Russian views and ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin, who is the godfather of his daughter. Kozak also owns the NewsOne and ZIK TV channels.
Link(s): https://kyiv.npu.gov.ua/news/novini/u-kijevi-policzejski-rozshukuyut-zlovmisnika-yakij-vistriliv-u-fasad-budivli-telekanalu-iz-granatometa/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=cpWGq3aHgHs
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian-police-investigating-rpg-attack-on-kyiv-office-of-tv-channel-112/30053446.html
https://112.ua/mnenie/zayavlenie-sotrudnikov-112-ukraina-v-svyazi-s-davleniem-nacional-radikalov-na-telekanal-499661.html
Categories: Attack to Property / Intimidation /
Source of violation: Unknown
Online news outlet journalist assaulted
8 July 2019 – Kirill Malyshev, Strana.ua news online outlet correspondent, was assaulted by nationalists during protest rally near News One TV channel building in Kyiv, Strana.ua reported.
According to the journalist, the leader of C14 far-right group Yevhen Karas began to shout: “Here is a separatist! He is a Strana’s journalist.”
“Immediately afterwards, the protesters tried to attack me. But other activists defended me. Focus magazine’s journalist also stood up for me. This allowed me to gain time, and [during the] dialogue police brought me out of the crowd,” Malyshev said. Police officers then asked him to leave the rally “to avoid provocations.”
On 8 July nationalists protested against holding a teleconference with the Russian federal TV channel “Russia-24”. The rally was attended by right-wing organisations the National Guard, the National Corps and C14.
Link(s): https://strana.ua/news/210487-vo-vremja-aktsii-u-telekanala-newsone-natsionalisty-davili-na-zhurnalista-strany.html
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury, Blocked Access
Source of violation: Known private individual(s)
TV channel employees received threats
8 July 2019 — NewsOne TV channel’s journalists and their families received threats of physical violence after the announcement of a teleconference with the Russian state television channel Russia 24, NewsOne TV channel reported.
“The channel planned to organise the first non-political teleconference between people from Ukraine and Russia. Therefore, we believe that such actions against the TV channel return Ukraine in times of intimidation and pressure on journalistic freedoms,” NewsOne website stated. According to the statement, the TV channel cancelled the teleconference due to pressure on the channel.
On 8 July, right-wing radicals held a protest rally near the channel’s offices in opposition to the teleconference. The rally was attended by right-wing organisations the National Guard, the National Corps and C14. The editorial board of the channel regarded the action as pressure on its editorial independence.
On 8 July, the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky criticised the holding of a teleconference, calling it “a PR campaign before the election.” The general prosecutor’s office of Ukraine filed a proceeding on an attempt to commit a state betrayal by providing information support to subversion against Ukraine. The head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Ivan Bakanov, stated that he considers it absolutely unacceptable to organise a teleconference with “the main propaganda channel of the aggressor country.”
Link(s): https://newsone.ua/news/iz-za-prjamykh-uhroz-fizicheskoj-raspravy-v-adres-kanala-zhurnalistov-i-ikh-semej-newsone-soobshchaet-ob-otmene-telemarafona-nado-pohovorit.html
https://imi.org.ua/news/newsone-roztsinyv-aktsiiu-protestu-pid-kanalom-iak-tysk/
https://ssu.gov.ua/ua/news/1/category/21/view/6248#.Pmvs5Tr3.dpbs
Categories: Intimidation, Blocked Access
Source of violation: Unknown, Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
Online news outlet journalist assaulted
2 July 2019 — Vladislav Bovtruk, an online news outlet Strana.ua journalist, was assaulted by nationalist activist Olexiy Tsymbalyuk during protest rally on Independence Square in Kyiv, Strana.ua reported.
The protest meeting was organised by associates of the ex-president Poroshenko and nationalists against registering politicians who are considered “pro-Russian” to take part in parliamentary elections.
According to Strana.ua, the journalist was hit in the face by one of the protesters. “The blow was so strong that I fell to the ground. After that, already lying down, they continued to kick me. I got up, and they poured water on me and started shouting ‘Have you enough? Do you want us to add?’. At that moment the police came and led me out of the crowd,” Bovtruk said. He filed a complaint with the police about the incident.
Later, the outlet reported that the assaulter was called Tsymbalyuk, who participated in the staged murder hoax of journalist and blogger Arkady Babchenko in 2018.
Head of the National Union of Journalists Serhiy Tomilenko commented that any meetings and political actions should be open to journalists of all media. “This aggression becomes possible, because in Ukrainian society a stereotype has been gained over the years – a journalist is a defenseless victim, an attack on him goes unpunished. We hope that the police will have enough professionalism to conduct an investigation,” Tomilenko said.
On 3 July, the police opened a criminal case into the attack on the journalist.
Link(s): https://strana.ua/news/209396-v-nszhu-otreahirovali-na-izbienie-zhurnalista-strany-radikalami-na-majdane-poroshenko.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TgRDjw_IUI
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury, Blocked Access
Source of violation: Known private individual(s)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1565109399511-735b815d-6e0c-8″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
06 Aug 19 | Russia, Russia Incident Reports
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Index on Censorship’s Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project tracks press freedom violations in five countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Learn more.
[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”32 Incidents” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
MBH Media journalist charged for cooperation with “undesirable organisation”
30 July 2019 – In Ust-Labinsk, in the Krasnodar region, police searched the house of local journalist Alexandr Savelev and seized his phone, Mediazona reported.
Savelev was taken to the police station for questioning and later released. The next day he was detained and charged with cooperation with undesirable organisation, which is punishable with up to six years in jail.
The police believe that the news outlet MBH-Media that Savelev was reporting for is connected to Open Russia, which is considered an “undesirable organisation” by Russian authorities.
The journalist believes that the criminal case against him is connected to his professional activities, including his investigations into corruption in the region.
Links: https://ovdinfo.org/articles/2019/08/19/zhurnalist-aleksandr-savelev-zanimaetsya-rassledovaniyami-na-nego-vozbudili?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=share&fbclid=IwAR3jdUh5n_SETmBFQlkokQb7qu1Yz0GhfJEPvsJbYJWYqGySrgtu3JnFnEA
https://mbk-news.appspot.com/news/na-zhurnalista-yug/?fbclid=IwAR1b0t7u_KCbkpcLidW6_0LFlh2WzB9ttR_krcjXL28YftutlzPkgCYrjIg
Categories: Criminal Charges/Fines/Sentences
Source(s) of violation: Police/State security
Police detain journalists reporting on Navalny’s alleged poisoning
28 July 2019 – Daniil Sotnikov, reporter with independent broadcaster Dozhd, and photographer Gerogy Markov were detained, despite carrying valid press cards, while reporting on the alleged poisoning of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Police detained the journalists near the hospital where Navalny was taken.
Markov said he was also beaten by policemen and his camera was broken.
Background:
28 July 2019 – Opposition leader Alexey Navalny was allegedly poisoned in jail, where he was under 30 days arrest for organising unsanctioned protests. He was hospitalised on the fourth day of his arrest with symptoms initally described as an “acute allergic reaction.” Later the main immunologist-allergist in Moscow diagnosed him with “contact dermatitis in the facial area and angioedema of the paraorbital area”.
Navalny’s doctor published a post on Facebook criticising the official diagnosis. She said she had attempted to examine Navalny, but was not allowed to. She wrote that, since Navalny does not suffer from any allergies, that he ate the same hospital food as the rest of the patients and did not use any new perfume or hygiene products, this could be “the result of the damaging effects of unspecified chemicals”.
Links:
https://zona.media/news/2019/07/28/razgon?fbclid=IwAR1TP3JwGalq7EMY13aaGsGM9h5Hwr9gvDj139JEXdJ3MIYsjSiU8AiSrYE
https://t.me/mbkhmedia/11668
Background links:
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2431075110337317&id=100003045553668
https://t.co/rAhclAYeoq
https://meduza.io/feature/2019/07/28/aleksey-navalnyy-vo-vremya-ocherednogo-aresta-popal-v-bolnitsu-ego-lechaschie-vrachi-somnevayutsya-v-ofitsialnom-diagnoze-chto-proishodit
Categories: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation; Physical Assault/Injury
Source of violation: Police/State security
Journalists assaulted while covering mass protests in Moscow
Evgeny Feldman
22 July 2019 – At least six journalists were injured by policemen during a violent crackdown on demonstrators, who took to the streets to protest against the disqualification of independent candidates to the Moscow City Parliament, Meduza reported.
Evgeny Feldman, a photographer who was covering the protests for Meduza. Feldman’s camera was struck by a policeman and his nose was injured in the process.
Alexandr Soloukhin, a cameraman working with YouTube vlogger Ilya Varlamov, said that he was also hit in the nose when the police surrounded the protesters and started beating them with the batons.
Balaram Usov, editor of student magazine DOXA, was hit in the head with a baton and then his arm was injured when he was pushed and pinched by a door; later he sent to a hospital from a police station.
Photographer Valery Tenevoy was beaten in a police van, wVD-Info reported.
RBC journalist Elena Sheveleva reported that she was hit by a policeman and a reporter working for Meduza said that an officer twisted Sheveleva’s arm.
Links:
https://twitter.com/EvgenyFeldman/status/1155159056908214277
https://twitter.com/varlamov/status/1155150622406168577
https://ovdinfo.org/news/2019/07/27/miting-u-merii-moskvy-27-iyulya-2019-goda-i-ego-posledstviya-onlayn#wtf_1188525
https://ovdinfo.org/articles/2019/07/27/dopuskay-itogi-akcii-storonnikov-kandidatov-v-mosgordumu
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury
Source of violation: Police/State security
Dozhd website suffers DDoS-attack
27 July 2019 – Independent broadcaster Dozhd reported a DDoS attack on its website during live coverage of mass protests against the disqualification of independent candidates to Moscow city parliament.
Links:
https://tvrain.ru/news/sajt_dozhdja_podvergsja_ddos_ataka-490401/
Categories: DDoS/Hacking/Doxing
Source of violation: Unknown
Police summon TV Dozhd editor-in-chief for questioning
27 July 2019 – Policemen raided a studio belonging to independent broadcaster Dozhd while it was covering mass protests against the disqualification of independent candidates to Moscow city parliament, Meduza reported.
The broadcaster’s editor-in-chief Alexandra Pospelova was summoned for questioning as a witness in a criminal case opend under the article 141 of the Criminal Code of Russia – obstruction of the activity of elections committees. This case had been opened after mass protests in support of the independent candidates to Moscow city parliament, who revealed widespread inconsistency in the election commission’s actions after they were rejected the registration on the grounds of submitting false signatures.
Links:
https://meduza.io/news/2019/07/27/politseyskie-prishli-v-studiyu-dozhdya
Categories: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation
Source of violation: Police/State security
Police detain Navalny Live host during live coverage of mass protests
27 July 2019 – Policemen broke into a studio of YouTube channel Navalny Live, run by the team of the opposition leader Alexey Navalny during the live coverage of mass protests against the disqualification of independent candidates to Moscow city parliament – the video of the incident was posted by Ilya Pahomov on Twitter. Later the host of the channel’s Vladimir Milov reported that he was detained at a police station.
Links:
https://twitter.com/ilyapahomov/status/1155098701712494592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1155098701712494592&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmeduza.io%2Fnews%2F2019%2F07%2F27%2Fpolitsiya-vorvalas-v-studiyu-navalnyy-live
https://meduza.io/news/2019/07/27/politsiya-vorvalas-v-studiyu-navalnyy-live
https://twitter.com/v_milov/status/1155104996062629889
Categories: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation
Source of violation: Police/State security
Ilya Azar detained in Moscow at mass protest
27 July 2019 – Novaya Gazeta special reporter and a municipal deputy Ilya Azar was detained in Moscow during the mass protests against the disqualification of independent candidates to Moscow city parliament, despite presenting his press-card to the police – which was recorded in the video published by witnesses.
Links:
https://meduza.io/news/2019/07/27/zaderzhan-zhurnalist-novoy-gazety-ilya-azar
Categories: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation
Source of violation: Police/State security
Police told journalists to get accreditation to cover mass protests in Moscow
25 July 2019 – The press-service of Ministry of Interior Affairs of Moscow published a statement, asking media managers to send to the police the data of the journalists who would be covering the mass protests against the disqualification of independent candidates to Moscow city parliament on 27 July.
The director of the Center of Defense of the Rights of Media, Galina Arapova, called it “meddling into professional independence of the editorial offices” and stressed that according to the law, journalists can cover protests and other actions without any coordination with the police. Arapova also warned that submitting such data to the police may threaten the security of the journalists: “We understand, that there were cases when police came to the organisers or alleged participants ahead of the mass actions. Where is the guarantee that they will not come to a journalist ahead of the event, that something won’t happen to him/her and he/she won’t get to the event place? Why does the police need to know the names of those people?”
The police also asked the journalists to carry with them not only press-cards but a printed editorial assignment from their publication. If they don’t have such assignments, police threatened them with sanctions. Arapova also believes the requirement is illegal: “Detention in this case will be absolutely illegal. According to the Article 47 of the Media Law, journalists have special rights. This is an inalienable professional right. Even without a special assignment. You walked, saw something happening, and started filming. This right is granted to you by the specifics of the professions and the federal law.”
Links:
https://77.мвд.рф/news/item/17697354/https://whitenews.press/?p=5798&fbclid=IwAR3CgUp0WfT8DzpEh7wQ96A30onTcZcePuqk5RLu7IqhDP24Zp2Iu8GxKMc
Categories: Intimidation
Source of violation: Police/State security
Administrative case about “participation in the activity of undesirable organisation” opened against the founder of Samara newspaper
26 July 2019 – Yulia Illarianova, director of the founding organisation of Park Gagarina, a local newspaper in Samara, was handed a protocol about the opening an administrative case against her about “participation in the activity of undesirable organisation” because of two news articles mentioning Open Russia (recognised as undesirable organisation in Russia since April 2017) that ran in Park Gagarina. One of the articles appeared in October 2017, the other in January 2019.
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/GlasnostDefense/photos/a.849220988467446/2591652674224260/?type=3&theater
Categories: Criminal Charges/Fines/Sentences
Source of violation: Police/State security
Yakutsk journalists fined for article about torture
25 July 2019 – A Yakutsk city court fined Mikhail Romanov, a journalist with local weekly newspaper Yakutsk Vecherny, 30,000 rubles ($473) for “for abusing the freedom of information”, Interfax reported.
In April, Romanov wrote and published the an artucle with the headline “The victim of the regime” about an employee of a local university who was kidnapped and tortured by Federal Security Service (FSB) officers for leaving critical comments on social media. After the publication, a district police officer came to the editorial office several times to question Romanov, but the journalist refused to testify without official summoning.
Then the policemen opened an administrative case against the journalists under the article 17.7 (insubordination to the legal requirements of a representative of the authorities) and later another one under the article 13.15 (abusing the freedom of information). According to the officer, Romanov’s phrase in the published article “This is a story about the fact that everyone can get into the millstones of the state machine. And about the fact that Big Brother watches, reads all the comments on the forums…” contained hidden inserts, affected people’s subconsciousness and had a harmful effect on them.
Links:
https://www.interfax.ru/russia/670353
https://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/2019/07/25/153649-v-yakutii-oshtrafovali-zhurnalista-obvinennogo-v-vozdeystvii-na-podsoznanie-lyudey-iz-za-stati-o-pytkah-sotrudnikami-fsb
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4041316
Categories: Criminal Charges/Fines/Sentences
Source of violation: Court/Judicial; Police/State security
Two reporters charged with failure to comply with judge’s orders
24 July 2019 – Reporters of Telegram-channels AvtozakLIVE and Bessrochny Protest were charged with failure to comply with the order of the judge or bailiff to ensure the established order of the courts and pushed out of the court room, where they were covering trial of Alexandr Archagov, charged with organisation of unsanctioned protest against the disqualification of independent candidates to Moscow city parliament, OVD-Info reported.
Links:
https://ovdinfo.org/express-news/2019/07/24/na-korrespondentov-dvuh-telegram-kanalov-sostavili-protokoly-za-semku-v-sude?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=share&fbclid=IwAR0xEedt9R61uafD9jGP1WwyXmBH4Vmmce1QppvGuqbQ6E6nSKqhB6o7WDg
Categories: Criminal Charges/Fines/Sentences
Source of violation: Court/Judicial
Grani.ru reporter expelled from court for real time reporting
24 July 2019 – Alim Suleimanov, a reporter with Grani.ru, was expelled from North Caucasus District Military Court for live reporting for Facebook group “Crimean Solidarity” on the trial of Crimean activist Nariman Memedinov, according to journalist Anton Naumlyuk.
Suleimanov was expelled on the grounds of not getting permission to conduct real time reporting, however such permission is not needed for real time text reporting (only for video). Suleimanov was not charged officially.
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/anton.naumliuk/posts/2623886230979634
https://zona.media/news/2019/07/24/txt?fbclid=IwAR0hL72rZL0Af5miYT2VPtiufgkZrmBZVQsqexKD1EKE9DdXRnNinoUKgX8
Categories: Blocked Access
Source of violation: Court/Judicial
Dagestan-based journalist charged with financing terrorism
23 July 2019 – Abdulmumin Gadzhiev, a journalist with Dagestan regional newspaper Chernovik, was charged with financing terrorism, according to Pavel Chikov, the head of human rights group Agora.
According to the offical investigation, Gadzhiev conspired with others, including an exiled Islamic preacher Israil Akhmednabiev to fundraise money for the Islamic state in 2011. Investigators allege that as part of the scheme Gadzhiev published news reports on the charitable activities of Akhmednabiev’s Ansar fund between 2011 to 2019. The investigators said they believe that Gadzhiev knew that part of the funds was being transferred to the Islamic state in Syria. Authorities believe that over 6 million rubles (almost $95,000) were donated to Ansar by deceived members of the public.
Gadzhiev was detained on 14 June. The journalist and his colleagues claim that he is innocent. The investigators said that his guilt is confirmed by testimonies of others accused in these case – a lawyer of one of them said that he testified under torture.
Links:
https://zona.media/news/2019/07/23/ansar?fbclid=IwAR1nWvGOmAULYtDk2rJIc4o7PpCGSuCGwoU2a7f6zB4daIIDwAhebsNbW-k
https://zona.media/news/2019/06/16/dagestan
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/337733/?fbclid=IwAR1DLcgWr39E2hQvMmdysnacAvlO8Tl22XBfGARjBAZonEUiAXo7BpderJo#.XSdd1r18lDU.facebook
Categories: Criminal Charges/Fines/Sentences
Source of violation: Court/Judicial; Police/State security
The court blocks Snob’s test about corruption
19 July 2019 – The Kirovsky district court of Tomsk ruled the Russian state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, could block access to a “test” about corruption, published by Snob magazine in November 2017.
The lawsuit against Snob was filed in May 2019 by a city prosecutor of Asinovsk, who demanded to block access to the test — “How to give and take bribes properly. Test-instruction for a beginner official” — because “committing actions posted on the website are punishable with criminal and administrative responsibility, and the distribution [of such information] violates … the constitutional rights of an indefinite number of persons to freely seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information in any legal way guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation”.
Snob argued that all the questions in the test are based on real corruption cases, and the test was published as a response to the news that the state budget lost 19 billion of rubles ($300 millions) due to the corruption.
Links:
https://snob.ru/selected/entry/130778/
https://snob.ru/news/180189/
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4034634?fbclid=IwAR1Ea5mnFMxEZ13O1hMNuGXwdEWCtbRvi975aVCAP7Ml_6ezw2F_4TQzs9E
Category: Censorship
Source of violation: Court/Judicial
Court bars journalists from covering public trial
18 July 2019 – In Tyumen, Justice of the Peace Natalya Buslovich barred journalists from covering the open trial of Timur Muratov, an alleged son of the former head of the police in Kalininsky city district, who is accused of murder threats, Znak.com reported.
Muratov’s lawyer filed a motion with the court to bar journalists, which was supported by the prosecutor in the case. Despite the objection from the victim’s lawyer, that the trial was open, the justice of the peace asked attending journalists to leave the court room and said prohibited press outlets from publishing about the trial before the final hearing.
Links:
https://www.znak.com/2019-07-18/v_tyumeni_sudya_zapretila_smi_osvechat_otkrytyy_process_nad_synom_eks_policeyskogo?fbclid=IwAR3U7qLg2L28MFcpes7Zz4Yjlkib_nToCKIt8QwSTo3BLrlpLg7suM9eyQw
Categories: Blocked Access
Source of violation: Court/Judicial
SotaVision journalist assaulted and detained by police during protest in front of Reutov court
17 July 2019 – Oleg Elanchik, reporter with online-broadcaster SotaVision, was detained during a crack down on a demonstration in support of an opposition activist that took place front of Reutov court, OVD-Info reported.
According to Elanchik, who was accredited to work in the court, he saw about 16 officers of Rapid Response Group of the Bailiff Service of the Moscow Region disperse about 30-40 people who came to support opposition activist Evgenoy Kurakin, whose case was being heard in the court that day. Elanchik started to film the aggressive tactics of the officers, when three of them attacked him and tried to take away his phone.
According to the journalist, they “inflicted weak blows, applied a suffocating technique, twisted arms, stepped on the foot”, then dragged him to a police station and drew up a protocol against him about “disobeying a bailiff’s legal order”. Elanchik said that he saw another journalist with “a press-card hanging on his neck” among other detainees.
Elanchik said he received minor injures and has filed a report with the police: “I have abrasions, bruises, scratches. I went to the emergency room, I have a certificate”.
Links:
https://ovdinfo.org/stories/2019/07/17/kak-specnaz-razgonyal-lyudey-v-reutovskom-sude-rasskaz-zaderzhannogo-zhurnalista?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=share&fbclid=IwAR2Wh_2TNEh_yGrELIvRdb8zWcUMRdX_OinYMgLijf-5ZwApGx-bJFw50QE
https://mbk-news.appspot.com/news/v-reutovskom-sude/?fbclid=IwAR08kJ7hJPI_-TfJneYJ107P_LKRHdo8A5XSCWBcaUVdtZv6ifOqDTS-bnA
Categories: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation
Source of violation: Court/Judicial
Journalists detained on request from Vilyusk mayor
16 July 2019 – A film crew working for local broadcaster Yakutia 24 was detained by police in Vilyusk while interviewing people on the state of the city’s roads, the broadcaster reported.
“We were surveying the residents of Vilyuisk about the condition of the roads. A precinct policeman approached us and said that the mayor, Nyurgustan Afanasyev, filed a complaint with police against me and the cameraman, and asked us to go to a police station with him. We agreed and asked about the reason for the detention”, reporter Evgeniy Toytonov said.
Earlier the same day the journalists visited the mayor Afanasyev to ask about the condition of the roads. “The mayor was not inclined to give us any comments from the very beginning, he prohibited to film him”, Toytonov said. After the journalist asked Afanasyev about the road works, the mayor asked to talk “about something good” instead and then pushed the reporter and the cameraman out of his office and called the police.
UPDATE:
17 July 2019 – Afansyev said that he called the head of Yakutia 24 and apologised for the incident, explaining that he called the police to ask them to identify the journalists, whose credentials he did not believe to be real. “We worked well with the broadcaster before that incident. I did not think that the journalists were its employees”.
The press-office of Vilyusk police confirmed the mayor’s complaint asked the police to “identify two unknown men who conducted video recording in the city administration without his agreement and despite his refusal to give an interview”.
Alexandr Kalugin, representative of the media holding company that owns Yakutia 24, said that it is clear in the video that the journalists identified themselves.
Links:
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4033541?fbclid=IwAR0qEWDxHTnf-CcGW1m0xQ7hi8MqYVPed3KLdb7pt_xibdIojE3LVIRD14I
http://yk24.ru/index/proisshestviya/sotrudnikov-telekanala-yakutiya-24-zaderzhala-policziya-za-vopros-o-dorogax-vilyujska?fbclid=IwAR3u0ocGF0kZsDiTw8vXQt0Ggf2fshMyQgHsS5_h0jiL6_QWPH16rM-1fFo
Categories: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation
Source of violation: Police/State security; Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
Ingush journalist arrested for 2 months on drug charges
16 July 2019 – A court in Magas ordered the arrest of Rashid Maysigov, a journalist with Ingushetia regional media outlet Fortanga, who was covering mass protests in the republic, his lawyer Magomed Aushev told Kavkaz Uzel. Maysigov faces two months in detention on the drug charges.
Maysigov was detained on 12 July and accused of drug dealing in larged quantities under the article 228, part 2 of the Criminal Code of Russia. After the detention, the journalist filed a complaint saying he had been tortured by policemen.
Maysigov’s lawyer said that supporters of the journalist were not allowed to attend the hearing, despite the trial being open to public.
Links:
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/337931/
Categories: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation
Source of violation: Police/State security; Court/Judicial
Journalists barred from meeting of independent candidates and elections committee
15 July 2019 – Mikhail Mokrov, the press-officer of the Moscow City Elections Committee, said that the journlaists would be barred from covering a meeting with independent candidates to the Moscow city parliament, who were earlier rejected for registration on the grounds of submitting false signatures in support of their candidacy, Dozhd reported.
The candidates claim that the Moscow City Elections Committee’s officials purposely disallowed valid signatures to bar independent candidates from running in the election. The conflict resulted in a mass protest in support of the independent candidates.
After the protests, the Moscow City Elections Committee officials invited the candidates to a meeting. One of the candidates, Lyubov Sobol, invited journalists to attend, saying such meeting should be open and public.
However, the Moscow City Elections Committee said that it doesn’t plan to organise any events “for press”.
Links:
https://tvrain.ru/news/na_vstrechu_glavy_mosgorizbirkoma_s_nezavisimymi_kandidatami_otkazalis_puskat_zhurnalistov-489575/?fbclid=IwAR2O8gOh676t53WwKw-3CsbaXzhnMUQBtoZu-Pt8wKMx67FoeOHUn7z_aU4
Categories: Blocked Access
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
Dozhd reporter detained at mass protest in Moscow
14 July 2019 – Alexey Korostelev, a reporter with independent broadcaster Dozhd, was detained by police while covering mass protests against the disqualification of independent candidates to the Moscow city parliament.
Dozhd published the video of the incident. Korosteleve identifies as press, but was nevertheless detained.
Links:
https://tvrain.ru/teleshow/here_and_now/video_zaderzhanija_korresponenta-489542/?fbclid=IwAR3PszHzloMBRuMTkTE-WyuqkyGKZfFIg98BhnQLr1GdFC2aDtGCZq-dc5o
Categories: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation
Source of violation: Police/State security
Roskomnadzor blocks Ingushetia regional media outlet Fortanga
14 July 2019 – Ingushetia regional media outlet Fortanga, which covered mass protests in the republic caused by a border dispute, was blocked by Roskomnadzor, Russia’s state media regulator, journalist Izabella Evloeva told MBH-Media. According to Evloeva, Fortanga had not received any prior notifications from the regulator.
According to Roskomnadzor’s list of banned websites, the blocking relates to a ruling by the Batay city court from 29 November 2013; however Fortanga was founded only in 2018.
According to MBH-Media, that the court order relates to a post containing extremist content. Fortanga later reported that they found the referenced extremist content in a comment posted to Fortanga’s page on the Vkontakte social network. Fortanga deleted the comment and informed Roskomnadzor about it. The media outlet was unblocked later the same day.
Links:
https://mbk-news.appspot.com/news/roskomnadz/?fbclid=IwAR2Q1hZJajZ6oOcdtY-topDl09PtvRiX3k3mnFFbOWx_nCOVg-8JJBtQyGQ
https://t.me/fortangaorg/4040
Categories: Legal Measures
Source of the violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
Perm regional authorities proposed reform that would increase their influence on local media
11 July 2019 – Perm regional authorities proposed a reform that would consolidate the region’s media and broadcasters under a registered non-governmental organisation, Kommersant reported.
The authorities say that it would increase the funding for the regional media. Critics argue that it would monopolise the press market in the aread and would deprive private newspapers of state support, automatically redirecting state contracts to the newly formed regional outlets.
Links:
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4026763?fbclid=IwAR343pzgxsUuTYeFftNghPHG5IOMZ5nkOXxSrLkJ-dJQy2MQTO3LGQOVoAk
Categories: Legal Measures
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
Journalist beaten in a fake queue to election commission in St Petersburg
9 July 2019 – Journalist Alexey Radkov was assaulted by members of fake queue at the election commission in Sergyevskoe district. The individuals wanted to prevent independent candidates from registering for municipal election, OVD-Info reported.
Radkov started filming the line when one of the men punched the journalist. Radkov punched him in return, and then all members of the queue – around 15 men – started beating him. The journalist managed to escape and called the police.
According to Radkov, one of the attackers was from Chechnya, two from Dagestan – they did not have St Petersburg registration and could not be in the queue to register as municipal candidates.
Links:
https://ovdinfo.org/express-news/2019/07/09/v-peterburge-uchastniki-feykovoy-ocheredi-v-izbiratelnuyu-komissiyu-napali?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=share&fbclid=IwAR060tIJ68dIOHXKSc71RIF6m1F2xfhFP8PppRUoxRwNWk82FnIYNDt3zNk
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury
Source of violation: Unknown; Known private individual(s)
Three MBH-Media journalists detained near Putin’s residence
8 July 2019 – Anastasia Kulagina, Mariya Pogrebnyak and Andrey Zolotov, journalists with MBH-Media, were detained near the residence of President Vladimir Putin in Moscow region, while they were trying to film video for a report about a dilapidated wooden house next to the president’s residence, MBH-Media reported.
Policemen explained that the reason for the detention was that the journalists walked into the zone marked with stop sign, which prohibits vehicler access. The police confiscated the journalists’ passports and took them to a police station. Later the journalists were questioned by the Federal Protection Service because they “were at the protected area of the first person”.
Links:
https://mbk-news.appspot.com/news/zhurnalistov-mbx-media/?fbclid=IwAR2enYnebjBetl6pr7iOVlRyIrelyu8_1tn3qkrDIll8prIPBhKasQOBc3I
Categories: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation; Blocked Access
Source of violation: Police/State security
Journalist detained while filming mass detention in Khokhlovskaya Square
7 July 2019 – Maxim Kondratyev, a reporter of Telegram-channel AvtozakLIVE, was detained in Moscow while filming a police raid at Yama, a public space in Khokhlovskaya Square.
The journalist was filming, but did not have a press card with him when he was detained. A policeman who interfered with him did not have a badge with a name. Kondratyev also said that he was kicked by a policeman and pushed against the police van. The journalist was taken to a police station and released after two hours with an administrative charge of jaywalking.
Links:
https://ovdinfo.org/express-news/2019/07/05/v-moskve-v-yame-zaderzhali-zhurnalista-snimal-reyd-lva-protiv?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=share&fbclid=IwAR2D3JxnFfOBG6mK_gZRrhejhOXDW2H644lYtHlxoq6FMB-xPXIPW07azAA
Categories: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation
Source of violation: Police/State security
Journalists assaulted outside treason trial
5 July 2019 – Journalists who were covering the treason trial of Alexander Vorobyov, an assistant to the Plenipotentiary of the President in the Urals Federal District, were assaulted by an unknown man, who was pushing the journalists in attempt to prevent them from filming the defendant, MBH-Media reported.
MBH-Media reporter Anastasia Olshanskaya was pushed so hard, she fell to the ground. According to Olshanskaya, the assaulter had a holster, presumably with a pistol. He refused to identify himself or answer any questions in the presence of TV reporters with video cameras, but later said “You all understand, whose trial you come to cover, right?”
Links:
https://mbk-news.appspot.com/news/v-moskve-posle/?fbclid=IwAR3Nr-OQ6STylQbGS5FmolThdO3sXjf91piygqr0CQRH1gt_zxEEjjV-jSg
https://twitter.com/AsyaOlshanskaya?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1147138801581662208&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmbk-news.appspot.com%2Fnews%2Fv-moskve-posle%2F
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury
Source of violation: Unknown
Koza.press editor-in-chief fined for mentions of ‘undesirable organization’
5 July 2019 – In Nizhny Novgorod, Justice of the Peace Evgeny Zadkov imposed a fine of 5,000 rubles ($78) on Irina Murakhteva (Slavina), the editor-in-chief of the local media outlet Koza.press, for “participation in the activity of an undesirable organisation”, OVD-Info reported.
The case against the journalist was opened after a report to the police from an anonymous citizen, worried that the press coverage of forum Svobodnye Ludi (Free People) is a danger to the constitutional rights of Russian citizens. The materials of the case included the screenshots of Murakhtaeva’s reposts of other media materials, including about the arrest of Anastasia Shevchenko, an activist of Open Russia that was recognised as an undesirable organisation in Russia since April 2017.
Links:
https://ovdinfo.org/express-news/2019/07/05/glavnogo-redaktora-nizhegorodskoy-gazety-oshtrafovali-za-posty-o?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=share&fbclid=IwAR0zgNPyXYPjIuvWB_LesfjNYGu9YJKAP2q7wg6csuJrXO9MLziVYhw1yzY
Categories: Criminal Charges/Fines/Sentences
Source of violation: Court/Judicial; Police/State security
Pskov journalist included in extremists and terrorists list
4 July 2019 – Pskov journalist Svetlana Prokopieva, a reporter with Radio Svoboda and former editor of local news outlet Pskovskaya Gubernia, was included in the Rosfinmonitoring list of extremists and terrorists, her bank accounts were blocked, Prokopieva said in a Facebook post. She suggested that it means that she would soon be charged with “justification of terrorism”.
A criminal case on “justification of terrorism” was opened against Prokopieva in February after a radio programme at Ekho Moskv on which she commented on a suicide bomb attack of 17-year old student in front of the local headquarters of Federal Security Service.
Links:
https://zona.media/news/2019/07/04/prokopieva-spisok?fbclid=IwAR2qSZd-y1iKwHowA-qmQS2V2pQzJP_yjrOX-zqUAG_zePSbLjkPUqC34g8
http://www.fedsfm.ru/documents/terrorists-catalog-portal-add
https://www.facebook.com/svetlana.prokopyeva.9/posts/2362072540497708
Categories: Legal Measures
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
Masked men attempt to access Ekho Severa editorial office
3 July 2019 – A group of 11 masked men in sportswear came to a business center, where the editorial office of Ekho Severa, local media outlet in Arkhangelsk, is located, 29.ru reported. The group attempted to gain access to the floor containing only the Ekho Severa offices, which were empty at the time.
Editor-in-chief Iliya Azovsky said that the goal of the intruders was intimidation of the journalists: “The editorial team has reasons to believe that this incident could be tied to some authors’ journalistic investigations. Almost everyday different so-called fixers come to us with requests, sometimes even with absurd ones at the first glance – to remove an article published a month ago or a new one. And I have to explain them how the internet works, that it is almost impossible to delete the information from it”.
The police launched an investigation of the incident.
Links:
https://29.ru/text/gorod/66149389/?fbclid=IwAR0chNHrDztkUvZ9HCG-vK4vpGCQxTdT7DMJuWHNIW2daPtgSp1YDl-qR8g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvkqPZBGhPc
Categories: Intimidation
Source of violation: Unknown
Communal service company files a defamation case against Newsvo in Vologda
2 July 2019 – In Vologda, 14 employees of Magistral, a communal service company, including its director, filed a complaint with police against Newsvo, a local media outlet. The complainants accused the outlet of defamation for a post published in the blog section of the site’s website, Newsvo reported.
On 2 July two policemen visited the Newsvo office to question journalists about how social media posts are transferred to the website’s blog section. The post in question titled “Road works at the embankment started again?” was published on the website on 18 June. It contained a phrase saying that instead of cutting off the illegal grillage (the concrete pavement above the project), some “khanuriki” made a wooden formwork for stones and concrete on it. Magistral employees said in the believe that the word “khanuriki” is defamatory.
Links:
https://newsvo.ru/news/121130?fbclid=IwAR2P5fPskD3Jw7yi6lVrrft2VlXRaxoc_uJz8IL6CE4efdHEb-Tifuk_uq4
Categories: Subpoena / Court Order/ Lawsuits
Source of violation: Corporation/Company
NGO files defamation lawsuit against local newspaper
3 July 2019 – Non-governmental organisation Deti Voiny (Children of War) filed a 500,000 ruble ($7,892) defamation lawsuit against local newspaper Narodnaya Gazeta Severskogo Raiona, The Center for Protection of Media Rights reported.
The artcile in question was published in April and ran under the headline “Non-Childish Problems of ‘Children of War’ in The Region”. The article criticised the latest report on the organization’s activity. The organisation said in its suit that the article contained five defamatory phrase.
A lawyer of the Center for Protection of Media Rights says that all of them are either corroborated by evidence or phrased as an opinion.
Links:
https://mmdc.ru/news-div/judge_history/v-krasnodarskom-krae-predsedatel-obshchestva-deti-voyny-trebuet-500-tys-rubley-s-glavnogo-redaktora-/?fbclid=IwAR35I1Rv_NeqCcMVlyA2a9AH1vpsRl4EWlVd6w-HCS3rIPCz3FP1IduekHA
Categories: Subpoena / Court Order/ Lawsuits
Source of violation: Corporation/Company
Homophobic group threatens journalists reporting on LGBT rights
2 July 2019 – Pila, a radical homophobic group, published an announcement that declared of the beginning of a new hunting season on LGBT-activists and journalists reporting on LGBT rights. The announcement included the editorial tearms of Novaya Gazeta and the Russian service of Radio Svoboda. Pila said the group had “prepared dangerous and cruel gifts” for those on the list, which was accompanied by images of a noose and a man with a speech bubble saying “maybe I should kill myself”.
UPDATE:
21 July 2019 – Elena Grigorieva, LGBT-activist mentioned on Pila’s list, was brutally killed in St.Petersburg.
Links:
https://parniplus.com/news/pila-ugrozhaet/?fbclid=IwAR1TQQAFW-KBdTC4ORKraL366kMDQlhjrUrYY0mco56xq49EAtjY3g_835c
https://takiedela.ru/news/2019/07/24/pila-lgbt/
Categories: Intimidation
Source of violation: Unknown; Criminal organisation[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1567419957765-fe9e2033-c002-3″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
