06 Sep 19 | Campaigns -- Featured, Statements
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Building trust in the media, achieving media sustainability, and ending impunity for murdered journalists are all issues that will be covered during the upcoming International Parliamentary Seminar on Media Freedom, which takes place in London on 9 – 11 September. The Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists is relevant in this regard, as it seeks to gather and disseminate information on serious media freedom issues.
The platform was launched in 2014 in response to growing hostility toward journalists and media freedom in Europe, so as to swiftly and systematically notify the Council of Europe of pertinent issues and to empower it to take timely and coordinated action when necessary. Index on Censorship is proud to be one of the platform partners. Since 2015 we have submitted and co-sponsored nearly 300 alerts (notifications) to the platform about threats to media freedom and the safety of journalists.
Index on Censorship contributes to the platform, including by drawing on its Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project, which monitors threats, limitations and violations related to media freedom in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. In 2018, 17 alerts were submitted to the platform relating to impunity for murdered journalists. Of these, 15 occurred in the countries covered by Index’s media freedom project: Turkey (2), Azerbaijan (2), Ukraine (5), and Russia (6).
In advance of the International Parliamentary Seminar on Media Freedom session on regional initiatives, which takes place on 10 September, Index on Censorship expresses the belief that the platform provides a model that could be replicated by other regions. Such a mechanism has the capacity to quickly draw on the knowledge and expertise of media freedom organisations and journalists’ networks, in order to promote media freedom and enhance the safety of journalists.
Index has noted with extreme concern that the number of alerts about serious threats to journalists’ lives has almost doubled on an annual basis since the launch of the Platform in 2015. We believe that stronger political commitment and practical engagement from politicians and governments is needed to support media freedom around the world. In Council of Europe states, this means that parliamentarians must fully engaging with the platform by ensuring that each alert receives a swift and comprehensive response. This is essential in order for the platform to fulfil its potential.
While Index on Censorship commends the UK’s commitment to press freedom, we note that since the beginning of 2018 seven Council of Europe alerts have concerned the UK: new counter-terrorism legislation; proposed internet regulation; the arrest of two journalists in September 2018; the killing of a journalist in April 2019; the continued impunity for the killing of a journalist who was murdered in 2001; an attack on a journalist in August 2019; and a government-backed arms fair’s (DSEI) refusal to grant two journalists accreditation. Four of these alerts have yet to receive a response.
Noting the UK’s role as one of the Council of Europe’s founding members, Index urges the UK to continue engaging with the platform and ensure it takes practical and concrete steps to promote the protection of media freedom in the UK. The UK should aim to set an example for other countries by providing prompt and detailed state replies to alerts.
Contact: Jessica Ní Mhainín, [email protected] [/vc_column_text][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1567768197646-934f3ae2-fe70-1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
22 Aug 19 | Campaigns -- Featured, Media Freedom, media freedom featured, Monitoring and Advocating Coverage, Russia, Statements
Since the electoral authorities rejected several opposition candidates for September’s city council elections, protesters have taken to the streets of Moscow on four consecutive Saturdays. Russian authorities have responded with threats, violence, and detentions.
Journalists who have been reporting on the protests have consistently been targeted. On 27 July 2019, two journalists suffered broken noses after being struck by police, one received injuries to his hands and head after being hit with a police baton, a fourth was beaten in a police van after his arrest, and a fifth received injuries from a police assault.
Police have detained dozens of reporting journalists in the last few weeks, even after they had shown their accreditation. On 3 August 2019, police detained at least fourteen journalists. One journalist was arrested even after police found his accreditation and editorial assignment when they searched him. He was released shortly afterwards, but subsequently re-arrested and taken to a police station. All eight journalists were released the same day without charge.
Several YouTube channels have been broadcasting the protests live, but on 11 August the Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor published a statement calling on YouTube to stop “advertising” the demonstrations. The regulator said that a failure to respond would be considered “interference in its sovereign affairs” and that Russia would have the right to retaliate.
Several media freedom and journalists’ organisations have filed two alerts with the Council of Europe’s Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists in relation to Russia’s response to the protests. No reply has so far been received from the Russian Federation.
Jessica Ní Mhainín, Policy Research and Advocacy Officer at Index on Censorship said “Russian authorities seem to be indifferent to the fact that, by targeting protesters and journalists with violence and detentions, they are in flagrant violation of their obligations under international human rights law. But they should bear in mind that their response will only fan the flames of these pro-democracy protests. Journalists are the defenders of our democracy – without journalists and media freedom, there is no democracy”.
Nora Wehofsits, Advocacy Officer at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom said “The violent crackdown on journalists in Russia is a violation of the freedom of the press and freedom of information. Repressing coverage on protests in favour of fair elections and against police violence – and on the oppression of those – re-affirms the need of journalists as watchdogs. It must stop”.
Ravi R. Prasad, Director of Advocacy at the International Press Institute said “Attack on journalists covering democratic protests is against the principles of democracy. The government should allow journalists to do their job without any fear of reprisal and attacks. By attacking journalists Russia is attempting to stifle press freedom and the right of its people to be informed”.
Russia is not the only country where journalists are under threat in connection with protests. Index on Censorship’s 2018 report Targeting the messenger: Journalists on the frontline of protests highlighted the challenges in European countries.
Index on Censorship
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
International Press Institute (IPI)
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Russian Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Index on Censorship’s Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project monitors threats, limitations and violations related to media freedom in five countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine for the purpose of identifying and analysing issues, trends and drivers and exploring possible response options and opportunities for advocating media freedom. The project collects and analyses limitations, threats and violations that affect a journalist as they do their job.
- Independent media sources have been hamstrung by restrictive legislation and police, governmental, and private interference.
- Physical assaults, detentions, lawsuits, fines, and blocked access are common. Many outlets have chosen to practice self-censorship to protect themselves.
- Strict new laws limiting press freedom have been introduced, despite having progressive press laws from the 1990s still on the books and a constitutional article guaranteeing freedom of the press.
Out of 175 violations recorded in Russia by the Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project between February and June 2019, 20 were physical assaults that came from political figures, police structures, known private individuals and unknown perpetrators. Several of the cases are egregious examples of how physical violence is used to target journalists in Russia.
Read the full report
Previous report: Legislative restrictions, bomb threats and vandalism are just some of the issues Russian journalists have faced this year
21 Aug 19 | Turkey, Turkey 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_custom_heading text=”29 Incidents” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
UPDATE: Trial of journalist Atakan Sönmez adjourned until November
Atakan Sönmez
19 July 2019 – The fourth hearing in the trial of journalist Atakan Sönmez, the former news director of Cumhuriyet daily’s online edition, took place at the 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported.
Sönmez is charged with “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization” over the Cumhuriyet website’s coverage of Turkey’s 2018 military operation on Syria’s Afrin. In the previous hearing the prosecutor requested the court to convict the journalist of “systematically spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
Sönmez asserted that none of the news stories that form the basis of the accusations included terrorist propaganda or any other criminal intent and requested to be acquitted. In its interim ruling, the court granted Sönmez exemption from appearing in court and adjourned the trial until 7 November 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1140881948937785344?s=20
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist Adnan Bilen stands trial for “insulting the president”
19 July 2019 – Journalist Adnan Bilen’s trial on the charge of “insulting the president” in his social media posts got underway at the 4th Criminal Court of First Instance of Van, Mezopotamya news agency reported.
Bilen and his lawyer Haşem Baygümüş were in attendance in the courtroom. In his defense statement, Bilen said that the social media posts in question did not contain any insulting remarks. He also said those posts had been shared on social media by over 1 million people to date. “Are you going to press charges against all those 1 million people? Is this truly possible?” he asked.
Bilen’s lawyer requested the court to acquit his client. The court adjourned the trial until 8 November 2019.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi21.com/tum-haberler/content/view/63929
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/383294/gazeteci-adnan-bilen-paylasimim-hakaret-degil-elestiridir
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/07/paylasimlarimin-arkasindayim-diyen-gazeteci-bilenin-durusmasi-ertelendi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Retrial of Altans and Ilıcak case set to start in October
Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan and Nazli Ilcak
18 July 2019 – The criminal court that sentenced Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak and three of their co-defendants to aggravated life imprisonment in the “coup” case in 2018 will begin the retrial of the case on 8 October, P24 reported.
The 26th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, which will oversee the retrial after its initial verdict was overruled on appeal, rejected the requests for Ahmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak and their three co-defendants to be released pending trial. All five have been in pre-trial detention for almost three years as part of the case.
The trial court also ruled for Mehmet Altan, who was released pending trial last summer by the appellate court, to be “forcibly brought to the hearing.”
The retrial comes on the heels of a judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeals earlier this month, which overturned the trial court’s 2018 verdict and ordered a retrial.
Link(s):
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/383369/altanlar-davasinda-yeniden-yargilama-8-ekimde
http://www.platform24.org/guncel/3854/altanlar-davasinda-yeniden-yargilama-8-ekim-de
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Jailed journalist Harun Çümen given 7.5-years prison sentence
18 July 2019 – Jailed journalist Harun Çümen, who is the former responsible managing editor of the shuttered Zaman newspaper, was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” at the final hearing of his trial, P24 reported.
The 32nd High Criminal Court of Istanbul ruled to keep Çümen behind bars during the appeal process. Çümen has been in pre-trial detention for the past 16 months.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1151785097860984834?s=20
https://aktifhaber.com/15-temmuz/gazeteci-harun-cumene-75-yil-hapis-cezasi-h135050.html
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Musa Kart
UPDATE: Supreme Court prosecutor requests quashing of verdict in Cumhuriyet trial
18 July 2019 – The Office of the General Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals has requested the reversal of the verdict in the Cumhuriyet trial, online news website Anadolu Agency reported. Turkey’s highest appeal court is expected to review the prison sentences handed down for Cumhuriyet newspaper’s former journalists and executives Orhan Erinç, Akın Atalay, Murat Sabuncu, Hikmet Çetinkaya, Aydın Engin and Ahmet Şık for “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” in the coming months.
The Office of the General Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals said in their judicial opinion that all defendants except Şık should be acquitted of all charges, while Şık should be charged with “praising a [terrorist] group and violence” and “spreading propaganda,” in which case he would face a combined sentence between 3.5 and 13.5 years.
The prosecutor asked the Supreme Court to reject the appeals filed by Emre İper and Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu.
The prosecutor also sought the reversal of the verdicts for five former Cumhuriyet staffers – Musa Kart, Güray Öz, Önder Çelik, Hakan Kara and Mustafa Kemal Güngör – who are currently in prison. Their conviction became valid after a ruling by the Istanbul Regional Court as prison sentences less than five years can only be appealed once and are normally not subject to a review by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
The case file will be overseen by the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals.
Link(s):
https://t24.com.tr/haber/yargitay-dan-cumhuriyet-in-eski-yonetici-ve-yazarlarina-beraat-talebi,831166
https://bianet.org/bianet/insan-haklari/210611-yargitay-iki-kisi-disinda-cumhuriyetcilerin-beraatini-istedi
https://www.cnnturk.com/turkiye/cumhuriyet-gazetesi-davasinda-yargitay-bassavciligi-dosyayi-tamamladi
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Journalist Kibriye Evren ordered to remain behind bars
18 July 2019 – Jailed journalist Kibriye Evren, a reporter for the female news collective JinNews, appeared before a Diyarbakır court for the sixth hearing of her trial, P24 reported. Evren faces charges of “membership in a terrorist group” and “disseminating spreading for a terrorist group.”
The prosecution had submitted their final opinion of the case during the previous hearing, requesting the court to convict the journalist of both charges.
Addressing the 5th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır for her defense statement, Evren said she has been jailed for the past 10 months based on statements by two secret witnesses and on her social media posts. Rejecting the accusations, Evren asked to be acquitted.
In its interim decision, the court ruled to inquire on the Şanlıurfa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office about a 2016 investigation file against Evren on the allegation of “terrorist group membership.” The court ruled to keep Evren behind bars and adjourned the trial until 24 September 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1151742674178859008?s=20
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/07/gazeteci-kibriye-evrenin-tutukluluguna-devam-karari/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Can Dündar’s hearing on solidarity with Özgür Gündem adjourned
Can Dundar
18 July 2019 – The trial against the former editor-in-chief Can Dündar for joining the solidarity campaign with the now closed pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem resumed in Istanbul, advocacy group Press in Arrest reported. The 22nd High Criminal Court of Istanbul, which oversees the trial, ruled to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant against Dündar and adjourned the trial until 28 November 2019. Dündar, who faces several trials and prison sentences, has been living abroad for more than two years.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/PressInArrest/status/1151765873599926272?s=20
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Rights defenders acquitted in “Özgür Gündem solidarity trial”
17 June 2019 – The 11th hearing in the trial against Professor Şebnem Korur Fincancı, the president of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), Erol Önderoğlu, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Turkey representative, and journalist-writer Ahmet Nesin for joining in the “substitute editor-in-chief” campaign for the shuttered Özgür Gündem newspaper resumed at the Istanbul courthouse, P24 reported. All four were accused of “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization,” “incitement to commit crime” and “praising crime and criminals.”
Issuing its verdict, the court acquitted all the rights defenders. It was the first acquittal ruling issued by a court for those who joined the “substitute editor-in-chief” campaign in solidarity with the pro-Kurdish newspaper. Murat Çelikkan and Ayşe Düzkan have already served prison sentences on the same charges.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1151389531943428096?s=20
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/rsf-turkey-representative-acquitted-terror-charges-190717102827047.html
https://t24.com.tr/haber/erol-onderoglu-sebnem-korur-fidanci-ve-ahmet-nesin-ozgur-gundem-davasinda-beraat-etti,831019
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Eren Keskin’s file separated in Özgür Gündem case, trial adjourned
17 July 2019 – The 12th hearing in the trial against Eren Keskin and Hüseyin Aykol, the former co-editors-in-chief of the closed down pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem, its former responsible managing editor Reyhan Çapan and journalist Hasan Başak resumed in Istanbul, P24 reported. All four face charges of “praising crime and criminal,” “incitement to commit crimes” and “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization”.
Keskin’s file has been separated from the case and sent to the 23rd High Criminal Court; it will be merged with the ongoing main trial, where she faces similar accusations.
The prosecutor submitted their final opinion, asking the court to convict Aykol, Çapan and Başak of “praising crime and criminals” and “incitement to commit crime.” The prosecutor also sought prison terms for Aykol and Başak on the “propaganda” charge, while they asked the court to convict Çapan of “systematically spreading terrorism propaganda.”
Granting time for the preparation of the final defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, the court adjourned the trial until 21 November 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1151416664275214336?s=20
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/07/ozgur-gundem-davasi-aykol-dahil-yedi-gazeteciye-ceza-istendi/
https://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/210568-huseyin-aykol-reyhan-capan-ve-hasan-basak-a-ceza-talebi
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist Necla Demir faces new criminal investigation over anonymous tip
Necla Demir
17 July 2019 – The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of Bakırköy in Istanbul has launched a new investigation against journalist Necla Demir, the former publisher of the online news portal Gazete Karınca, the website reported. The allegation in the new investigation file is “incitement to hatred and animosity.”
The investigation was launched upon an anonymous tip filed with the Presidency’s Communication Center (CIMER).
Demir was referred her to a Criminal Judgeship of Peace after being interrogated by the prosecutor, who requested the implementation an international travel ban and other judicial control measures. In the previous case, the judgeship ruled that Demir did not have any intent of committing a crime and her actions were aimed at informing the public.
Link(s):
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/07/gazeteci-necla-demire-bu-kez-de-isimsiz-ihbarla-sorusturma/
https://www.gazetefersude.com/gazeteci-necla-demire-isimsiz-ihbarla-sorusturma-acildi-67077/
https://www.gercekgundem.com/medya/106164/gazeteciye-isimsiz-ihbardan-sorusturma
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Journalist Deniz Yücel’s trial adjourned until October
Deniz Yücel’s lawyer, Veysel Ok, tweeted a picture of Yücel and his wife, Dilek Mayatürk, hugging in front of Istanbul’s Silivri prison. (Photo: Veysel Ok / Twitter)
16 July 2019 – The trial of Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yücel, the former Turkey correspondent of the German newspaper Die Welt, on the charges of “spreading propaganda for a terrorist group” and “inciting hatred and animosity” resumed at the 32nd High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported.
The presiding judge announced that the court has just received the Constitutional Court’s ruling concerning the individual application of Yücel, in which the top court had ruled that Yücel’s pre-trial detention violated his rights to liberty and security, freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
Yücel’s lawyer then asked the trial court to acquit Yücel in line with the Constitutional Court ruling and without waiting for the defense statement, taken in May in Berlin, to be sent to the trial court. In its interim ruling, the court decided to wait until they receive Yücel’s statement and adjourned the trial until 17 October 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1151048073197604870?s=20
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/1490128/Deniz_Yucel_davasinin_4._durusmasi__istinabe_evraki_bekleniyor.html
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/07/aym-hak-ihlali-karari-vermisti-deniz-yucelin-durusmasi-ertelendi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Sendika.org editor Demirhan given jail term for “insulting the president”
16 July 2019 – Ali Ergin Demirhan, an editor for the news portal Sendika.Org, has been sentenced to 11 months and 20 days in prison on the charge of “insulting the president.”
Demirhan was on trial because of a social media post he had shared. The court deferred Demirhan’s sentence by five years, during which he would be subject to probation. Demirhan announced the verdict against him on 16 July 2019 in his Twitter account.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/ali_ergind/status/1151050770248294400
http://sendika63.org/2019/07/erdogana-hakaretten-11-ay-20-gun-hapis-cezasi-alan-demirhan-yazdiklarim-hakaret-degil-sorumlulugumun-geregidir-555007/
https://www.gazetefersude.com/gazeteci-ali-ergin-demirhana-erdogana-hakaret-suclamasiyla-hapis-cezasi-66919/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist Ahmet Kanbal briefly detained
15 July 2019 – Ahmet Kanbal, a reporter for the Mezopotamya news agency, was taken into custody on 13 July 2019 in the southeastern province of Mardin, where he lives, the agency reported.
Kanbal was charged with “spreading propaganda for a terrorist group” over his social media posts and referred to the courthouse on 15 July. The court he was referred to by the prosecutor released Kanbal under judicial control measures and an international travel ban.
Link(s):
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/07/gazeteci-ahmet-kanbal-adli-kontrol-ile-serbest-birakildi/
https://www.artigercek.com/haberler/gazeteci-ahmet-kanbal-serbest-birakildi
https://www.medyakoridoru.com/sosyal-medya-paylasimlari-nedeniyle-ters-kelepce-takilarak-gozaltina-alinmisti-gazeteci-ahmet-kanbal-serbest-birakildi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Ban on access to news story violates press freedom, top court rules
12 July 2019 – The Constitutional Court has found that an access ban targeting a news story published in the online edition of BirGün newspaper violated freedom of the press and freedom of expression, the newspaper reported.
An Ankara judgeship had imposed an access ban on the footage featured on the website, which showed a local man tied behind an armored police vehicle and dragged during operations in Şırnak in 2015. BirGün had filed an application with the top court concerning the access ban.
The Constitutional Court’s Plenary voted unanimously in favor of BirGün and also ruled to send a memo to the Gölbaşı Criminal Judgeship of Peace to lift the block on the news story.
Link(s):
https://www.anayasa.gov.tr/tr/haberler/bireysel-basvuru-basin-duyurulari/habere-erisimin-engellenmesi-nedeniyle-ifade-ve-basin-ozgurlugunun-ihlal-edilmesi/
https://t24.com.tr/haber/aym-habere-erisim-engeli-karari-ifade-ve-basin-ozgurlugu-ihlalidir,830276
https://www.birgun.net/haber/aym-den-birgun-karari-habere-erisim-engeli-karari-ifade-ve-basin-ozgurlugu-ihlali-261534
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Journalist Baransu to remain behind bars
Mehmet Baransu
12 July 2019 – The trial of the former executives of the shuttered daily Taraf and its reporter Mehmet Baransu was held at the 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul over two days, P24 reported. The accusations in the case stem from the alleged publication of a document called “Egemen War Plan.”
Baransu, the only imprisoned defendant in the case who is in pre-trial detention in the Silivri Prison, was in attendance to continue with his defense statement. Former Taraf executives Ahmet Altan, Yasemin Çongar and Yıldıray Oğur, who are exempt from personal appearance in court, did not attend. They were represented by their lawyers.
Following the completion of statements by lawyers, the prosecutor requested the continuation of Baransu’s detention on remand. At the end of the two-day hearing, the court ordered the continuation of Baransu’s detention. Also ruling to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant against Tuncay Opçin, the fifth defendant in the case, the court adjourned the trial until 27, 28, 29 August.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1149288074129682432?s=20
https://www.timeturk.com/baransu-nun-tutukluluk-halinin-devamina-karar-verildi/haber-1129492
https://medyascope.tv/2019/07/12/taraf-gazetesi-davasi-baransuya-savunmasini-tamamlamasi-icin-sure-verildi-bir-sonraki-durusma-27-28-29-agustosta/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist Hüseyin Aykol sent to prison
11 July 2019 – Veteran journalist Hüseyin Aykol, the former co-editor-in-chief of the shuttered pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem, was sent to prison to serve a 3-year and 9-month sentence he was given in 2018, Mezopotamya news agency reported.
Aykol was taken into custody at noon on 11 July at his home in Ankara and was taken to the Sincan Courthouse. After the completion of the procedures at the courthouse, Aykol was sent to the Sincan F Type Prison in Ankara.
Aykol was convicted of “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization” in January 2018 at the final hearing of a trial where his co-defendants included Mehmet Ali Çelebi and Ayşe Düzkan, who were among journalists who participated in the “substitute editor-in-chief” campaign for Özgür Gündem in 2016. The sentences given to Aykol and his co-defendants were upheld by the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice on 29 November 2018.
Aykol is currently a defendant in 63 separate trials, some of which are pending before appellate courts.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi21.com/tum-haberler/content/view/63233
https://m.bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/210345-journalist-huseyin-aykol-detained
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/382839/gazeteci-huseyin-aykol-cezaevine-goturuldu
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Former Gazete Karınca publisher’s trial adjourned until October
11 July 2019 – The second hearing in the trial against Necla Demir, the former publisher of the online newspaper Gazete Karınca, took place at the 33rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported. Demir stands accused of “systematically disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization” for the website’s coverage of Turkey’s 2018 military operation on Syria’s Afrin.
The presiding judge announced that the defense statements presented during the previous courtroom hearing were recorded but the tapes have yet to be transcribed. Lawyer Korkmaz informed the court that his client would be in attendance at the next hearing to make her defense statement in person. Issuing its interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court adjourned the trial until 11 October 2019 for the delivery of Demir’s defense statement.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1149290863123750912?s=20
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/07/gazeteci-necla-demirin-durusmasi-ekim-ayina-ertelendi/
https://www.gazetefersude.com/gazeteci-necla-demirin-yargilandigi-dava-11-ekime-ertelendi-66313/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Journalist Mehmet Ali Çelebi released from prison
9 July 2019 – Mehmet Ali Çelebi, an editor for the shuttered pro-Kurdish Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper, was released after 15 months in pre-trial detention, Mezopotamya news agency reported.
The court overseeing the trial of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi staff members had convicted Çelebi of “aiding a terrorist group without being its member” and sentenced him to 3 years and 9 months in prison at the final hearing of the case on 28 June 2019. The court had also ruled for Çelebi’s release, but the journalist remained behind bars due to a previous conviction on the charge of “spreading propaganda for a terrorist group” in last year’s “Özgür Gündem solidarity trial.”
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi21.com/components/88122611/content/view/63096
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/07/gazeteci-mehmet-ali-celebi-tahliye-edildi/ https://www.gazetefersude.com/gazeteci-mehmet-ali-celebi-tahliye-edildi-66160/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Journalist Mehmet Gündem sentenced to 6+ years of jail
9 July 2019 – The 35th High Criminal Court of Istanbul sentenced journalist Mehmet Gündem to over 6 years in prison on the grounds of “membership in a terrorist organization”, P24 reported.
Addressing the court in his final defense statement, Gündem said: “I have been a journalist for 25 years. I have been using the same phone number since 1995. I have met people from all segments of the society. Some of the names mentioned in the phone records are the people I worked with at Zaman newspaper.” He also denied that he did present a flight risk, requesting his release and acquittal. “I was on vacation when I found out about the arrest warrant against me. I immediately returned and turned myself in. Then I was released. When yet another warrant was issued, I was at home. It is clear that I do not pose a risk of flight.”
Issuing its verdict at the end of the hearing, the court convicted Gündem of “membership in a terrorist group” and sentenced him to 6 years, 10 months and 15 days in prison. The court also ruled to release Gündem pending the appeal process.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1148498794096578561?s=20
https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/gazeteci-mehmet-gundeme-fetoden6-yil-10-ay-15-gun-hapis,myZwjAqaEU-HQSD1UbABCw
http://www.milliyet.com.tr/gundem/mehmet-gundeme-feto-uyeliginden-6-yil-10-ay-hapis-cezasi-2902134
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Compensation case against Çiğdem Toker adjourned
9 July 2019 – The third hearing in a lawsuit against journalist Çiğdem Toker, filed by the mining company Şenbay Inc., was held on 9 July 2019 at the Ankara 13th Civil Court of First Instance, online news website T24 reported.
The mining company is seeking a record TL 1.55 million in non-pecuniary damages over an article Toker penned for Cumhuriyet daily in October 2017.
The court agreed to look into the official records of the tender, which was the subject of Toker’s column, as requested by the lawyer representing the company Şenbay Inc. and adjourned the trial until 17 October 2019.
Link(s):
https://t24.com.tr/haber/gazeteci-cigdem-toker-e-acilan-1-5-milyon-liralik-tazminat-davasi-ertelendi,829781
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/382700/gazeteci-cigdem-tokerin-durusmasi-ertelendi
https://www.gercekgundem.com/medya/104386/gazeteci-cigdem-tokerin-durusmasina-erteleme
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Corporation / Company
Kars Co-mayor Ayhan Bilgen faces Özgür Gündem indictment
8 July 2019 – The Press Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has issued an indictment against Kars Co-mayor Ayhan Bilgen, Mezopotamya news agency reported. The prosecution sent the indictment to a criminal court in Istanbul, which is intended to be merged with the ongoing trial against the shuttered pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem main trial. Former executives and members of the advisory board of the shuttered newspaper are face up to life imprisonment as part of the ongoing trial.
The indictment, dated 18 June 2019, accuses Bilgen of “disrupting the unity and integrity of the state,” “membership in a terrorist organization,” “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization,” “membership in an organization established for the purpose of committing crimes.” It also says that an investigation had been launched against Bilgen, who was also on Özgür Gündem’s editorial advisory board, as early as 2016. Bilgen’s file was eventually separated because he was a lawmaker at the time.
The 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul, which oversees the Özgür Gündem trial, is expected to decide on whether or not to merge Bİlgen’s file with the ongoing trial.
Link(s):
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/07/ayhan-bilgene-ozgur-gundem-davasi/
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/382650/ayhan-bilgen-hakkinda-ozgur-gundem-davasi
https://www.demokrathaber.org/siyaset/hdp-li-ayhan-bilgen-e-ozgur-gundem-fezlekesi-h71435.html
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Journalist Parlak released after 15 months in pre-trial detention
8 July 2019 – Ferhat Parlak, a publisher based in Diyarbakır and reporter of the shuttered local newspaper Silvan Mücadele, appeared before a court for the first hearing of his trial on the charge of “membership in a terrorist group.”
The 11th Criminal Court of First Instance of Diyarbakır, which recently accepted the indictment against Parlak, ruled at the end of the hearing to release the journalist from pre-trial detention pending the conclusion of his trial, Mezopotamya news agency reported. The court imposed an international travel ban on Parlak. Parlak, who was jailed in April 2018, has been in detention on remand for 15 months.
News reports and footage from the case file where Parlak was previously convicted of “propaganda” were also included in the new case file. The prosecution seeks up to 15 years in prison for Parlak. The second hearing of the trial will be held on 6 November 2019.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi21.com/tum-haberler/content/view/62604
https://m.bianet.org/english/human-rights/210232-journalist-ferhat-parlak-released
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/07/15-aydir-tutukluydu-gazeteci-ferhat-parlak-ilk-durusmada-tahliye-edildi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Appeals court overturned “coup” convictions in Altan’s case
5 July 2019 – The Supreme Court of Appeals has overturned the 2018 verdict by a criminal court that sentenced journalists Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak and three of their co-defendants to aggravated life imprisonment on the charge of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.” The verdict will lead to a retrial in one of the most high-profile journalistic trials, according to a report published by the state-run news agency Anadolu late on 5 July 2019.
The 16th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that Mehmet Altan should be acquitted, citing lack of sufficient and credible evidence. Mehmet Altan was freed from pre-trial detention in June 2018 by a decision of the appellate court based on a Constitutional Court judgment back in January 2018 and is the only defendant who has been released in the case so far.
As for Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak, the court said they should face the lesser charge of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member.”
The decision, as cited by Anadolu, said it could not be proven that the defendants had participated in the crime of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order” as perpetrators.
However, the Supreme Court judges rejected requests for the release of Altan, Ilıcak and their three co-defendants in the case, who have all been in prison for about three years.
As for three other defendants in the case, the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that Fevzi Yazıcı, the former chief page designer of the shuttered daily Zaman, Yakup Şimşek, the newspaper’s marketing director, and former Police Academy lecturer and commentator Şükrü Tuğrul Özşengül should be charged with “membership in a terrorist organization,” which carries up to 15 years in jail, instead of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.”
The case is now expected to be sent back to the trial court, the 26th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, for retrial.
In January 2018, the Constitutional Court ruled that Mehmet Altan’s detention was in violation of his right to personal liberty and security and freedom of the press and freedom of expression. However, both the trial court and the next court of first instance refused to implement the top court’s judgment and release Altan.
In February 2018, the 26th High Criminal Court of Istanbul sentenced the Altans, Ilıcak and three of their co-defendants to aggravated life imprisonment for “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order” as per Article 309 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The indictment claimed that the defendants “had prior knowledge of the coup attempt of July 2016,” which the government claims to have been carried out by the religious movement led by Fethullah Gülen.
On 27 June 2018, the appellate court that took up the case ruled that Mehmet Altan should be released on the basis of the Constitutional Court ruling.
In October 2018, the 2nd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice, the appellate court overseeing the case, rejected the appeals and ruled for the continuation of detention of all imprisoned defendants in the case.
On 3 May 2019, the Constitutional Court rejected the individual applications filed on behalf of Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak. In its reasoned judgments issued on 26 June 2019, the Constitutional Court said “the assessments made by the investigation authorities and the decisions rendered by the courts that ruled for [the journalists’] detention could not be deemed as ‘arbitrary and baseless’.”
Link(s):
https://t24.com.tr/haber/yargitay-dan-altan-kardesler-ve-ilicak-davasindaki-cezalar-icin-bozma-karari,829287
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/07/05/yargitay-nazli-ilicak-ve-altan-kardeslere-verilen-cezalari-bozdu/
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/382504/yargitay-altan-kardesler-ve-ilicaka-verilen-muebbet-hapis-cezasini-bozdu
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist Cengiz Erdinç given 10-month prison sentence
4 July 2019 – Journalist Cengiz Erdinç was given a 10-month prison sentence and fined an additional judicial fine of 16,000 Turkish Lira (around $3,000) over an article he penned for the Yurt newspaper, Reporters Without Borders reported. The 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul, which oversaw the trial, found Erdinç guilty of “damaging the reputation” of state bank Ziraat Bank in his article titled “Finansal kara delikler” (Financial black holes).
The court suspended the sentence on the grounds that Erdinç “has shown remorse,” which the columnist denied after the hearing. Erdinç’s lawyer Baran Kaya said he would appeal the verdict.
Link(s):
https://boldmedya.com/2019/07/04/gazeteciden-pisman-deyip-cezayi-erteleyen-mahkemeye-pismanlik-falan-yok/
https://twitter.com/RSF_tr/status/1146711473089130496
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Columnist Işıl Özgentürk convicted of “inciting hatred”
4 July 2019 – Işıl Özgentürk, a columnist for Cumhuriyet daily, was given a prison sentence of 1 year and 6 months on the charge of “inciting hatred and animosity or degrading the public” by an Istanbul court, online news website Gazete Duvar reported. Özgentürk was on trial over an article she wrote for the newspaper on 13 January 2019, titled “Yeni kuşak türbanlılar” (New generation of hijab wearers).
Based on a previous deferred conviction against Özgentürk, the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance ruled against suspending or deferring the sentence and argued that “the defendant may not refrain from committing the same offense again.”
Link(s):
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/07/05/isil-ozgenturke-1-yil-6-ay-hapis-cezasi/
https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2019/gundem/isil-ozgenturkun-cezasi-belli-oldu-5214448/
https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/isil-ozgenturke-basortululeri-asagilamaktan-hapis-cezasi/1523392
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Prosecutor seeks life imprisonment for jailed journalist Ziya Ataman
4 July 2019 – The trial of Ziya Ataman, a former reporter of the pro-Kurdish Dicle news agency (DİHA) and 18 other people resumed in the southeastern province of Şırnak, Mezopotamya news agency reported.
Ataman, who has been in detention on remand since 11 April 2016, addressed the Şırnak 1st High Criminal Court which oversees the trial from the prison in Van where he remains jailed.
Submitting their final opinion of the case during the hearing, the prosecution asked the court to convict all nine defendants who are still under pre-trial detention, including Ataman. The prosecution accused them of being guilty of “disrupting the unity and integrity of the state,” “attempting to intentionally kill with premeditation a civil servant because of the public service he performs,” “intentionally killing with premeditation a civil a servant because of the public service he performs,” “attempting to premeditated murder,” “intentionally damaging public property through the use of explosives” and two other charges. The prosecution asked the court to convict Ataman twice of “intentionally killing with premeditation a civil servant because of the public service he performs,” and 32 times of “attempting to intentionally kill with premeditation a civil servant because of the public service he performs.” Ataman has repeatedly denied being involved with the incident, with witnesses confirming his version of the facts.
Lawyers requested additional time for the preparation of the final defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion. The court told Atman, who asked to make his defense statement in Kurdish, to have his interpreter ready at the next hearing for his defense. Ruling to keep all jailed defendants behind bars, the court adjourned the trial until 24 September 2019.
Link(s):
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/07/gazeteci-ziya-atamana-savunma-da-tahliye-de-yok-muebbet-isteniyor/
http://mezopotamyaajansi18.com/components/88122611/content/view/62553
http://www.etha1.com/Haberler/tutuklu-gazeteci-ataman-hakkinda-muebbet-hapis-istemi/9/14232
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Trial of journalists Hürtaş and Demir adjourned until December
3 July 2019 – A trial where journalists Sibel Hürtaş and Hayri Demir are among 11 defendants charged with “inciting hatred and animosity” and “disseminating terrorism propaganda” over their social media posts about Turkey’s military operation on Syria’s Afrin resumed at the Ankara courthouse, P24 reported.
Announcing its interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court rejected the requests to file for the annulment of TCK Article 301 and to lift the judicial control measures imposed on the defendants. The court set 3 December 2019 as the date for the next hearing.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1146339093258936320?s=20
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/382362/gazeteci-sibel-hurtas-ve-hayri-demirin-durusmasi-aralik-ayina-ertelendi
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Özgür Gündem main trial adjourned until November
3 July 2019 – The “Özgür Gündem main trial”, where the former editors, columnists and members of the editorial advisory board of the shuttered pro-Kurdish newspaper were accused of “disrupting the unity and integrity of the state” and “membership in a terrorist group”, resumed at the 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported.
The prosecutor, who was expected to submit his final opinion on the case at this hearing, requested more time because of the vast content of a new case file submitted against one of the former editors-in-chief of the paper, Eren Keskin. Granting additional time for the preparation of the final opinion, the court adjourned the trial until 28 November 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1146293811489988608?s=20
https://t24.com.tr/haber/asli-erdogan-ve-necmiye-alpay-in-yargilandigi-ozgur-gundem-davasi-ertelendi,828854
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/382355/ozgur-gundem-davasinda-savci-mutalaa-icin-sure-istedi
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Former Zaman journalist Şirin Kabakçı’s trial adjourned until October
2 July 2019 – Şirin Kabakçı, the former Konya bureau chief of the shuttered newspaper Zaman, appeared before the 35th High Criminal Court of Istanbul on for the sixth hearing of his trial on the charge of “membership in a terrorist group”, P24 reported.
In its interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court ruled to start the procedures for taking the testimony of a witness who asked to benefit from effective remorse provisions, and adjourned the trial until 15 October 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/mlsaturkey/status/1146071914412220416?s=20
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
UPDATE: Ahmet Altan given prison term over 2010 article
2 July 2019 – Jailed novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan’s trial stemming from an article he wrote in 2010 for the shuttered daily Taraf resumed on 2 July 2019 at the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul Anatolian courthouse, reported Expression Interrupted outlet.
Altan, who has been in pre-trial detention in the Silivri Prison since September 2016, addressed the court via the judicial video-conferencing system during the hearing, P24 reported. “In a developed country, no writer would stand trial in a case similar to this one,” Altan told the court in his defense statement. He added: “In politics, there are no sacred figures. If you make a figure part of day-to-day politics, then you are acknowledging that this figure is not sacred and is open to debate.”
Altan was accused of “publicly insulting the memory of Atatürk” in his article titled “CHP,” which was a critical piece about the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Addressing the court, Altan’s lawyer Çalıkuşu said that there was no intent of “insult” in the article and requested Altan’s acquittal. Nevertheless, the court decided to give Altan a suspended 1,5-year prison sentence.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/ExInt24/status/1146063090552692742?s=20
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/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:1566403308005-4e1c28f6-af75-3″ taxonomies=”35195″][/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]
