Become the new Chief Executive of Index on Censorship

07 Feb 20 | News and features, Statements

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We live in the midst of radical changes to the ways people access news and information. 

When Index on Censorship was founded nearly 50 years ago, few could have foreseen the manner in which technology would now be changing the ways we engage with politics and democracy. Although the landscape of communication has changed, threats to freedom of expression remain as grave as they were 50 years ago – in the UK and around the world.

Index is looking for a resourceful and outspoken leader to steer the organisation through this changing terrain, and to protect the right for everyone to be free to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution – no matter what their views. From tackling legislative threats to digital freedom at home, to spotlighting issues of repression and censorship in China, Russia and Azerbaijan, we are seeking a Chief Executive to put free speech for everyone at the forefront of the political, campaign and news agenda.

What you will do

Index on Censorship has a small team that punches well above its weight. You will ensure the organisation is well run and enjoys a healthy office culture, strong relationships with the board and diligent financial management, so that we are well set to protect freedom of expression for another fifty years.

You will be the main outward face of Index on Censorship and build that presence on broadcast media, in the papers and on social media. You will be confident in championing the cause of freedom of expression and when explaining why it must be protected as a universal right for all, even at times when others are looking to close down conversations. 

You will be an excellent fundraiser, nurturing relationships and developing philanthropic partnerships which allow us to continue our advocacy campaigns, our magazine and our projects to support freedom of expression. We have a strong board with which you will work closely, while also building your own networks, to ensure we receive the financial backing we need from private individuals, corporates and foundation trusts.

You will build Index on Censorship as both a publisher of freedom of expression and a campaign organisation – a leader in advocacy for freedom of expression, ensuring that voices are heard beyond those normally associated with our cause. Through building strong partnerships and networks you will enable us to grow our capacity to advocate for individuals and groups, including to the government. 

Key Components of the Role

(1) Fundraising and Finance

  • Lead fundraising and be successful at bringing in funding from a variety of sources.
  • Work closely with the board, both on our strategic vision for fundraising and on building new donor relationships.
  • Use your contact book and leverage the board’s contacts in order to build relationships to benefit the organisation.
  • Proactively seek opportunities to diversify the funding base and attract a wider range of funders.
  • Lead on and manage proposal-writing for both core and project funding.
  • Ensure obligations and reporting to funders are fulfilled.
  • Be in regular contact with donors and take proactive care of donor relationships.

(2) Campaigning, Advocacy and Publishing

  • Be the main public face of the organisation with excellent written and oral communication skills for a range of audiences, including interacting with politicians, opinion-formers and media as well as broader general public audiences.
  • Lead senior management on setting and implementing Index’s priority range of campaigns, advocacy projects, editorial and events.
  • Lead with key staff on defining policy positions across a range of free expression issues. Identify where Index can take clear, unambiguous positions and where there are complex, grey issues that may need more debate and analysis.
  • Identify and build relationships with expert analysis and key opinion formers who can contribute usefully to our policy work
  • Build coalitions where necessary with partner organisations on shared policy objectives
  • Sign-off and provide strategy guidance on key policy statements and policy papers, delegating where appropriate
  • Work closely with the editor-in-chief who manages our historic magazine and our online editor and leads on the relationship with Index magazine publishers, Sage.
  • Lead on, and develop, the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards.

(3) Strategic Leadership 

  • Lead on developing and implementing strategic vision and framework; setting clear programmes of activities within overarching goals and priorities, in cooperation with the senior management team and staff.
  • Report to and work with the chair and board in ensuring good governance, finances, strategy and risk management. Prepare quarterly board meetings and relevant reporting requirements with the Finance Director.
  • Lead and develop rolling, state-of-the art evaluation and impact assessments ensuring all Index’s external-facing activities are high impact, increasing our influence and audiences.
  • Oversee work outputs delivered to high standards and deadline.
  • Build the team – the CEO will be an excellent team player as well as leader, ensuring integrated working across Index, encouraging creativity and innovation.
  • Encourage staff appreciation of both mission and strategy and their role in it
  • Line-manage senior staff and lead the senior management team.

Requirements

The successful applicant will be expected to demonstrate the following:

  • A commitment to freedom of expression
  • Excellent fundraising skills with proven experience of all areas of fundraising including grant and bid writing
  • Excellent communication and media presentation skills
  • Excellent political and policy knowledge and experience of advocacy
  • In-depth knowledge of international current affairs, especially concerning issues of freedom of expression, digital and media freedom
  • The ability to build relationships and networks with partners and stakeholders
  • Strategic and staff management, as part of leadership experience at a senior level
  • Management experience of managing change and growth
  • A great contact book and ability to use your networking ability to grow funding and opportunities for the organisation
  • Knowledge of freedom of expression issues in relation to the digital world

The following knowledge, skills and experience are desirable:

  • An established public profile 
  • Knowledge of foreign languages
  • Experience in addressing global freedom of expression issues
  • Knowledge of the civil liberties/human rights sector

Salary: £70-80k per annum based on experience

Hours: Full time, some national and international travel and flexible working required

Based: Our offices near Old Street, London

Recruitment timetable

Friday 13th March  Closing date for applications

Monday 16th March First round interviews with board representatives

Monday 30th March Second round interviews with staff and board

How to apply

Send your CV and a cover letter of no more than three A4 pages outlining your suitability for the role to [email protected] by Friday 13th March[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Around the Bloc – 16 January (Transitions Online)

16 Jan 20 | Index in the Press

Index on Censorship, Reporters Without Borders UK, and Transparency International UK are asking Azerbaijani authorities to reconsider a travel ban on prominent journalist Khadija Ismayilova so she can give evidence in the trial of a Romanian journalist, a press release said. Index on Censorship chief executive Jodie Ginsberg said the travel ban on Ismayilova was “a means to punish her and stifle the spread of her reporting.”

Read the full story here.

Urgent reforms needed to protect journalists from vexatious legal threats: Index on Censorship

03 Jan 20 | Azerbaijan, Europe and Central Asia, Media Freedom, media freedom featured, News and features, Press Releases, Romania, United Kingdom

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The UK should make it harder for powerful individuals and companies to bring libel actions or use other vexatious legal threats designed to stifle investigative journalism, Index on Censorship said on Friday.

Launching a new project that aims to expose the extent to which those with wealth and influence use legal threats to shut down investigations into their practices, Index said that – despite recent changes to UK law – more needs to be done both in Britain and abroad to tackle spurious lawsuits.

“Defamation law was reformed in 2013 to make it harder for people who had little or no connection to the UK to bring lawsuits here,” said Index on Censorship chief executive Jodie Ginsberg. “However, we are still seeing people and organisations with almost no UK links bringing expensive and spurious defamation cases. In addition, increasingly people are turning to privacy and data protection laws in an attempt to prevent journalists reporting on corrupt, illegal or poor practice.”

Ginsberg said UK law firms were also among the most heavily involved in legal threats to journalists outside the UK. “This needs to stop,” she said.

Later this month, the UK courts will hear the case of Paul Radu, investigative journalist and founder of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). Radu, a Romanian citizen, is being sued by Azerbaijani MP Javanshir Feyziyev, who was named in an award-winning OCCRP report exposing money-laundering. Feyziyev is a sitting MP in Azerbaijan, though says he lives in London, and most of the readers of the stories about Azerbaijan are not from the UK.

Index on Censorship, which campaigns on freedom of expression issues globally and publishes Index on Censorship magazine, has become increasingly worried about the growing use of vexatious lawsuits since it first launched a project monitoring threats to media freedom in Europe in 2013. 

“News outlets find themselves receiving a letter threatening expensive proceedings unless online articles are rewritten or removed altogether, and demanding an agreement not to publish anything similar in the future. The letters often tell the recipient that they cannot even report the fact that they have received the letter,” said Ginsberg.

Such suits are a particular problem for independent media outlets and other small organisations. They are financially draining and can take years to process. Faced with the threat of a lengthy litigation battle and expensive legal fees, many who receive such threats are simply forced into silence.

Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese investigative journalist who was assassinated in October 2017, had numerous lawsuits pending at the time of her murder, with some of the lawsuits brought by UK firms. 

Index will launch its research project into the use of vexatious legal threats against journalists later this month and aims to interview journalists and media organisations across Europe about the extent of these threats before a final report containing recommendations for action later in the year. 

For more information please contact: Jodie Ginsberg

[email protected]

About Index on Censorship

Index on Censorship is a London-based non-profit organisation that publishes work by censored writers and artists and campaigns against censorship worldwide. Since its founding in 1972, Index on Censorship has published some of the greatest names in literature in its award-winning quarterly magazine, including Samuel Beckett, Nadine Gordimer, Mario Vargas Llosa, Arthur Miller and Kurt Vonnegut. It also has published some of the world’s best campaigning writers from Vaclav Havel to Elif Shafak.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”3″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1578045297237-8e308956-998b-5″ taxonomies=”5692″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Russia: Press freedom violations October 2019

29 Nov 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=”21 Incidents” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

State-run Channel One cut out blogger’s joke about police

Ivan Urgant’s evening talk show edited out a joke about the police by blogger Danila Poperechny.

29 October – YouTube blogger Danila Poperechny said that his joke about the police was edited out of an episode of the late-night show Vecherny Urgant (Evening Urgant) at the state-owned Channel One.

After public outcry, the presenter Ivan Urgant showed the deleted joke in the next episode of the program. Poperechny’s joke alluded to the police raids carried out at the concerts of independent artists considered disloyal to the ruling government, and the fact that such artists would rarely appear on state-owned television stations.

Links:

https://twitter.com/Spoontamer/status/1188921512528613376

https://meduza.io/news/2019/10/30/v-vechernem-urgante-pokazali-vyrezannuyu-shutku-danily-poperechnogo-o-politsii-tsentra-e-v-ney-net

https://meduza.io/news/2019/10/30/v-vechernem-urgante-pokazali-vyrezannuyu-shutku-danily-poperechnogo-o-politsii-tsentra-e-v-ney-net

Categories: Censorship

Source(s) of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party

 

Bookstore chain refused to sell an issue of Diletant history magazine dedicated to Molotov-Ribbentrop pact

The Diletant history magazine that a bookstore chain refused to sell because it covered the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Credit: Alexey Venediktov via Twitter.

28 October – Bookstore chain Molodaya Gvardia refused to sell an issue of the Diletant history magazine dedicated to the Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Alexey Venediktov, editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy radio station, which supports the publication of the magazine, wrote about Molodaya Gvardia’s stance on Twitter.

The bookstore’s press office told Znak.com that they were concerned about potential problems with the authorities related to the article 20.3 of the Administrative code, which bans the reproduction of Nazi symbols. The cover of the magazine is a reproduction of a 1939 American caricature depicting Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin as a bride and groom.

Vitaly Dymarskiy, editor-in-chief of Diletant magazine, told Telegram channel Rasstriga that he interpreted the bookstore’s decision to be an act of self-censorship.

Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Russian Communist party, claimed that he would sue the magazine and would file a complaint to Roskomnadzor. He reportedly told the Telegram channel Podyem that the prosecutor should investigate and put those responsible in jail.

On 28 October, the State Historical Museum cancelled the monthly lecture organized by Diletant magazine, citing disagreement with the views expressed in the last edition. The museum’s press service reportedly told Interfax news agency that it was a “principled position” on the part of the museum’s management, after they became aware of the magazine’s content.

Links:

https://twitter.com/aavst/status/1187302972876832768/photo/1

https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-50213831

Categories: Censorship

Source(s) of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party

 

CEO of Karelia firm sued local journalist over article about his bonus

25 October – Pavel Degtyarev, CEO of Karellesprom, filed a million rubles ($15,630) defamation lawsuit against Svetlana Lysenko, a journalist with the local website Vesti Karelii, Stolicaonego.ru reported. The Karelia republic is a majority shareholder of Karellesprom.

Degtyarev claimed that Lysenko’s July article entitled “Spoon of tar in a barrel of forest honey: why did the director of Karellesprom receive a 26 million ruble ($406,383) bonus?” damaged his professional reputation. Degtyarev didn’t deny receiving the bonus.

In the article, Lysenko questioned the ethics of the bonus, arguing that Republic of Karelia is not wealthy enough to grant such premiums to management.

Links: 

https://stolicaonego.ru/analytics/gendirektor-karellesproma-zahotel-poluchit-million-s-zasluzhennogo-zhurnalista-karelii/

https://vestikarelii.ru/kapit/lozhka_degtja_v_bochke_lesnogo_meda/

https://www.parkgagarina.info/index.php/obshchestvo/regiony-rossii/30437-kareliya-poluchil-26-millionov-premii-mozhno-i-v-sud-podat-na-zhurnalista.html

Categories: Subpoena / Court Order/ Lawsuits

Source(s) of violation: Known private individual(s)

 

Yekaterinburg journalist accused of insulting authorities

21 October – Yekaterinburg-based journalist and political analyst Fedor Krasheninnikov was accused of insulting the authorities, Meduza reported.

On 21 October, policemen went to Krasheninnikov’s home to officially summon him to the police department. When the journalist arrived at the local police department with his lawyer, they were told that somebody named Salavat Khaziev had filed a complaint against Krasheninnikov for insulting the authorities on his Telegram channel. In it, Krasheninnikov allegedly criticized the prolongation of the arrest of Leonid Volkov, former head of the campaign for opposition politician Alexey Navalny, and called the judges who sentenced him prostitutes.

The journalist denied any wrongdoing. He said that he didn’t know the identity of the person who filed the complaint against him. Krasheninnikov reportedly told Meduza that he attributed the origin of the case to local authorities’ “unhealthy concerns” about him. According to Meduza, he said that the authorities constantly call him names and scold him in pro-government anonymous blogs. In his commentary to Kommersant, he said that his comments about Volkov were private and emotive.

According to reports, a court will determine the future of the complaint.

Links:

https://meduza.io/feature/2019/10/28/na-politologa-i-zhurnalista-fedora-krasheninnikova-zaveli-delo-ob-oskorblenii-vlasti-iz-za-posta-v-telegrame-my-s-nim-pogovorili?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=share_fb&utm_campaign=share&fbclid=IwAR27tVoo5fLwnB0664GVD9MX_H8TiUsIDXLw36qTjr-Z5g7RC8JCDezxIUg

https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4141118

Categories: Subpoena / Court Order/ Lawsuits, Criminal Charges/Fines/Sentences

Source(s) of violation: Police/State security, Known private individual(s)

 

Court refused to force Roskomnadzor to register opposition politician’s media outlet

24 October – Ostankinsky District Court refused to force Roskomnadzor (the Russian state media regulator) to register a media outlet founded by opposition politician Dimitry Gudkov.

Its editor-in-chief Alexey Obukhov filed a complaint to the court after the registration of his media outlet was refused numerous times. Obukhov said that among Roskomnadzor’s reasons were that he didn’t bring proof that he didn’t have a second citizenship and that he didn’t indicate the zip code in one of the documents. During the hearing, a Roskomnadzor representative said that Obukhov didn’t prove that he hadn’t been previously incarcerated.

Obukhov said that he had brought all the documents previously requested by Roskomnadzor to the court. The judge suggested that he re-apply for registration. Obukhov has been trying to register Gazeta Gudkova newspaper as an official media outlet since March 2019.

Links:

https://t.me/azlet1/223

https://tvrain.ru/news/sud_otkazalsja_objazat_roskomnadzor_zaregistrirovat_gazetu_dmitrija_gudkova-496103/?fbclid=IwAR2_cnt8EWJpSMmvs0DCLIhoxreGwm2ORwhAUWALIUyjkZ5rXnTe5A4X7FY

https://tvrain.ru/news/na_roskomnadzor_podali_v_sud_iz_za_otkaza_v_registratsii_gazety_gudkova-494840/?fbclid=IwAR3_KR30UhaPBrTk-0T_2MJb-jtfuRLlCiRVnkfPEtDoA5sqQD8GNGSGGks

Categories: Legal Measures

Source(s) of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party, Court/Judicial

 

Grani.ru reporter assaulted while working on a story about a housing scheme

24 October – Andrey Novichkov, reporter with independent media outlet Grani.ru, was assaulted by two unknown men while working on a story about a state-funded housing scheme, Mediazona reported.

Novichkov was accompanying the deputy of the Moscow city parliament Elena Shuvalova, who came to inspect one of the houses, which were built for those eligible for free housing (families with more than 3 children, disabled people, military personnel, orphans, etc.). According to the investigation of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, however, the apartments in the house were given to dozens of Moscow officials and supporters of the city’s mayor, Sergey Sobyanin.

When the deputy and the journalist entered the house and took photos, four men came out of an apartment, which reportedly belongs to the deputy head of Moscow city parliament Olga Timofeeva, and assaulted the journalist. They tried to push him inside the apartment, threatening to break his tablet and lock him inside. Mediazona published a video of the assault. When Shuvalova went to call the police, the assailants released the journalist.

Links:

https://zona.media/news/2019/10/24/dom?fbclid=IwAR0YcVFtTaUMGLuD2w5Je4fb5j4k2kfS1Fvuj6HjxofMP7-JkLwzSxk4W1Y

https://tvrain.ru/news/na_deputata_mosgordumy_i_zhurnalista-496084/

https://www.facebook.com/elenashuvalova.ru/posts/1163759710481949

https://navalny.com/p/6147/

Category: Physical Assault/Injury, Intimidation

Source(s) of violation: Unknown

 

Editor-in-chief of NewsVo.ru fined twice for alleged ‘obscene’ language in the blog section of the site

23 October – Evgeniya Sibirtseva, editor-in-chief of Vologda local media outlet NewsVo.ru was fined 5,000 rubles ($78) for alleged ‘obscene’ language in a reader’s blog of the news website, 7×7 reported. The journalist reportedly said that she was never notified about the hearing, and found out about the court’s decision post-factum via a text message from her bank, which informed her that a fine had been withdrawn. Sibirtseva said that she was charged the same fine twice – from two different bank accounts. She was told that the second charge would be returned to her account.

She told 7×7 that in 2019 NewsVo.ru was fined for obscene language in the blogs section of the website three times. “It’s just an excuse to fine the media and fill the officials’ pockets,” Sibirtseva said in a statement at NewsVo.ru.

Links:

https://7×7-journal.ru/articles/2019/10/24/vologodskie-pristavy-dvazhdy-spisali-s-glavreda-regionalnogo-izdaniya-shtraf-za-mat-v-bloge-karelskoj-obshestvennicy?fbclid=IwAR06i8tskSsWy4SpmKyijSNze9OXOiRuSj7l2u3YxI_ogSTHLM9534iUngY

https://newsvo.ru/blogovo/123118

https://lenizdat.ru/articles/1156425/

Category: Criminal Charges/Fines/Sentences

Source(s) of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party

 

Rossiya channel withdraws episode of a show covering the collapse of a dam at Krasnoyarsk gold mine

State-owned Rossiya channel withdrew an episode of Pryamoy Efir, which covered the story of a dam that collapsed in a gold mine in the Krasnoyarsk region.

23 October – State-owned Rossiya channel withdrew an episode of the talk show Pryamoy Efir, after it had been shown live and in full to viewers in Siberia and the far eastern regions of Russia, Krasnoyarsk outlet NGS24.RU reported. The episode covered the story of a dam that collapsed in a gold mine in the Krasnoyarsk region (Siberia) in October and caused the deaths of at least 15 people.

Live shows on Russian television are broadcast in the furthermost eastern time zone first, and then replayed in the same time slot in more time zones that are further west. The episode of Pryamoy Efir, which is hosted by the prominent TV presenter Andrey Malakhov, was withdrawn and not shown in the more westerly time zones. It was replaced with another episode of Pryamoy Efir.

A reporter from NGS24.RU took part in the show. The outlet reported that the episode was removed because of a call Rossiya received from the authorities. NGS24.RU published a fragment of the deleted show, in which Malakhov was reading out the results of an express test of the water probe from Seiba river, where the dam collapsed, indicating highly abnormal presence of chemicals, including mercury. Ecologists who took part in the show reportedly suggested that this may have been caused by the use of outdated technologies in the gold mine and that the chemical leaks could seriously threaten the ecology of the Krasnoyarsk region.

The Rossiya press office said that the Pryamoy Efir episode was only ever intended for broadcast in the far eastern regions.

Links:

https://ngs24.ru/news/more/66280972/?fbclid=IwAR0iDWrlmo9deMMIb8CTuFEdFaSghfhr-AgbARPpT4h6Gktr12itQetT6d8

https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-50157041

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50108413

Category: Censorship

Source(s) of violation:

 

Journalist detained in Krasnodar region

22 October – Gleb Pyanykh, former NTV journalist and TV presenter who is currently running his own YouTube channel with reports on politics and the economy, was detained in the Krasnodar region, RBC reported.

Pyanykh went to Dinskaya village to work on a story about a villa that was illegally built on agricultural lands, which allegedly belongs to the governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev. The journalist was stopped near the villa by a uniformed security guard, who questioned Pyanykh about his work and demanded that he go to the security office. At the same time, another man in plain clothes arrived in a car and blocked the way out. When Pyanykh started to film what was going on with his mobile phone, the men let him drive away.

However, after 500 meters the journalist’s car was stopped by police. They said that they received a call from the villa’s security guards and demanded that the journalist write an explanatory note about his activities. The policemen detained Pyanykh for about an hour and then released him without charge.

Links:

https://www.rbc.ru/politics/22/10/2019/5daf184e9a7947d00f05acac?fbclid=IwAR3yngMmwi3v7_yp8EZdBbKzPEuMYQnsWismzNUyDGb85_FdokXrogAJjwY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_5tjz9KHCI

Category: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation, Blocked Access

Source(s) of violation: Police/State security, Private security

 

Novaya Gazeta reporters assaulted at hunting centre in Moscow region

19 October – Svetlana Vidanova and Artyom Raspopov, correspondents with independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, were assaulted while working on a story about the illegal training of hunting dogs, Novaya Gazeta reported. Wild animals in Solnechnogorsk district of Moscow region were reportedly being hunted and killed during the trainings.

The journalists were accompanying animal rights activists when they were inspecting the area around the illegal training centre and found two fox skulls and a dead dog. When they entered the centre’s premises, the security guards approached Vidanova, twisted her arms, punched the camera and took her press card. The guards also took away Raspopov’s mobile phone and threw it over the fence, twisted his arms and pushed him out of the centre’s gate.

Police were called to the scene, but did not interfere while the assault was ongoing. The journalists received medical attention and filed a police report.

Links:

https://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/2019/10/19/156252-na-territorii-pritravochnoy-stantsii-v-moskovskoy-oblasti-napali-na-na-zoozaschitnikov-i-zhurnalistov-novoy?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=novaya&utm_campaign=-na-territorii-pritravochnoy-stantsii-kr

https://www.facebook.com/novgaz/photos/a.136917239684305/3217048941671104/?type=3&theater

Category: Physical Assault/Injury

Source(s) of violation: Private security

 

Roskomnadzor banned a report about a nationalist rally published 6 years ago

17 October – Russian state media regulator Roskomnadzor notified Tayga.info about the inclusion of their article about a 2013 nationalist rally in Novosibirsk in the list of banned materials, Tayga.info reported.

The article entitled “Novosibirsk divided into two Russian rallies” was published on 4 November 2013. Explaining the ban, Roskomandzor cited a Yekaterinburg court’s decision from 5 April 2018, which ruled that the article contained an extremist slogan. However, the slogan in question was deemed to be extremist by the court only in 2017, four years after the publication. The 2018 trial was initiated by the local prosecutor’s office. Tayga.info was never notified about the hearing before receiving Roskomnadzor message on 17 October 2019.

Tayga.info’s editors removed the rally slogan from the article, along with two photographs where it’s visible. They are consulting lawyers about the matter. In a statement, the website’s editorial team said that they didn’t consider the post-factum removal of information, which at the time of publication was not banned, to be legal.

Links:

https://tayga.info/149498?fbclid=IwAR16jH060QEZvJmQD45e9aSR1wwYCO_tGszBD1k_5FehW-o1SPUG3UMcwmU

https://tayga.info/114408

https://zheleznodorozhny–svd.sudrf.ru/modules.php?name=sud_delo&name_op=case&_id=219599949&_deloId=1540005&_caseType=&_new=0&srv_num=2

Category: Legal Measures

Source(s) of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party

 

13 Yekaterinburg journalists barred from covering trial on murder of local woman

17 October – Lenisnky district court of Yekaterinburg approved an appeal filed by prosecutors and supported by defense to close the trial on the murder of a local woman, Ksenia Katorgina, to the press and the public, MK-Yekaterinburg reported.

The journalists were removed from the courtroom. They were also prevented from filming the three suspects in the court’s halls, and were told not to film them through the windows when they were brought to the court.

Links:

https://eburg.mk.ru/incident/2019/10/17/nachalsya-sud-po-vybory-mery-presecheniya-dlya-podozrevaemykh-v-ubiystve-katorginoy-zhurnalistov-ne-pustili.html

https://www.e1.ru/news/spool/news_id-66273460.html

https://74.ru/text/criminal/66273460/

Category: Blocked Access

Source(s) of violation: Court/Judicial

 

Journalist of Samarskaya Gazeta forced to quit after publicly revealing city mayor’s efforts to censor the newspaper

17 October – Maxim Melnikov, journalist with Samara newspaper Samarskaya Gazeta, was forced to quit his job after publicly criticizing the editorial standards of the newspaper, which he said bowed to pressure imposed by officials from Samara’s mayor’s office.

On 10 October, a video from a local journalism conference was published with a 10-minute speech from Melnikov, in which he said that he published an ironic post on Samarskaya Gazeta’s official Vkontakte account about a street that was flooded due to a burst pipe.

Within 30 minutes of Melnikov having posted the comment, Samarskaya Gazeta’s editor-in-chief reportedly received a call from the city mayor’s office demanding that the post be deleted. According to Melnikov, that the editor and the unnamed official negotiated a deal that the outlet would keep the post, but publish only positive news about the incident in the following two or three days.

After the video of his conference speech was published, he was asked by the newspaper’s management to resign. The journalist reportedly expressed frustration that the authorities censor people who speak about problems, rather than trying to solve them.

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2710398908992030&id=100000658419213&sfnsn=mo

https://zona.media/news/2019/10/17/mlnkv?fbclid=IwAR0dGzSCvePc3ziDVz42BBo6Pt5p3RL4oxyuZDpkkV_vsmZm8fZ7g8L5DLA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5RgWCstaIg&t=0s&fbclid=IwAR1QGckR5iPrq78gUYxGPF_fkDsws-e-tHGe1-V0ANXgcnM_vR_mOEaxKoE

Category: Censorship

Source(s) of violation: Employer/Publisher/Colleague(s)

 

Police searched the homes of journalists in relation to Anti-Corruption Foundation case

15 October – Police searched the homes of four journalists in different Russian regions, as part of a money-laundering probe into opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, reported multiple outlets.

In the early hours of 15 October, police raided the home of Alexey Seregin, a Mari El-based journalist working for Idel.Realii. He told Idel.Realii that the police conducted a 3-hour search of his home and seized his personal belongings, including a computer, a mobile phone and a recorder. Seregin said that he had covered Navalny’s activities in the Mari El region, but had never worked with the politician’s Anti-Corruption Foundation.

A second Idel.Realii journalist, Dmitry Lubimov, wrote in a Facebook post that police carried out a simultaneous raid of his Yoshkar-Ola apartment, where he has not lived since February. Lubimov believed it was an attempt to put pressure on him and prevent him from his carrying out his work, which included covering Navalny’s activities.

A simultaneous raid was also carried out at the Smolensk home of Alexey Volkov, editor-in-chief of local website Keytown.me. Keytown.me had published news articles about the activities of the local office of Navalny’s political movement. Police told Volkov that the search would be conducted in connection with the money laundering case against the Anti-Corruption Foundation. When Volkov asked how he was connected to the money laundering investigation against the Anti-Corruption Foundation, police said: “This is what we will find out”. The search lasted two hours, during which the police threatened Volkov’s wife that they’d take away their two children, including their 4-month-old baby, if she didn’t sign a non-disclosure agreement. The police seized the journalist’s personal belongings, among them two computers, a hard drive, a mobile phone and all bank cards, even the one that was used for receiving children’s welfare. After the raid, the journalist was reportedly questioned for an hour by the investigator of the Investigative Committee of Smolensk region. Volkov subsequently told 7×7 that he had nothing to do either with the Anti-Corruption Foundation or with the local office of Navalny’s movement, and only covered them in the news.

On the same day in Vladimir, the police searched the editorial office of local press club Dovod. Its journalists were questioned over the case against the Anti-Corruption Foundation. The police seized laptops and computers, and the smartphone of the editor-in-chief, Kirill Ishutin.

On 16 October, police searched the home of Arkhangelsk-based journalist Yaroslav Varenik, seizing the hard disk of his computer, his notebook and his phone, 29.Ru reported. Varenik was taken to the police department for questioning and then released the same day.

In the days that followed, police searched the Moscow headquarters of the Anti-Corruption Foundation and the homes of the employees of its 30 regional offices.

Links:

https://www.idelreal.org/a/30223538.html?fbclid=IwAR1fS0Os9OcKVnacVV2WqIbKHD98PkGNS9_TYo-Xx8GGxlGXl-223tr4vgA

https://www.facebook.com/lemuyel/posts/2494914360562191?__tn__=H-R

https://29.ru/text/politics/66272740/

https://meduza.io/news/2019/10/16/v-arhangelske-u-zhurnalista-izdaniya-29-ru-proveli-obysk-po-delu-fbk-eto-uzhe-chetvertyy-takoy-sluchay-za-dva-dnya?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=share_fb&utm_campaign=share&fbclid=IwAR3XddAIXFMofeyy74HENB6xsPClnKeZ-wK1vEp5r35oGfXHXsRUeI9rcp8

https://7×7-journal.ru/articles/2019/10/15/v-smolenske-sledovateli-prishli-s-obyskom-k-redaktoru-novostnogo-sajta-keytown-me-po-delu-fbk?fbclid=IwAR1cVKvdlHwUE379eAhIqwFHPBjQT2ZSNz0wQGahauE0JurA6PHAQR2SCOg

https://www.dovod.online/v-redakcii-dovod-prohodit-obysk/

Category: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation

Source(s) of violation: Police/State security

 

Proekt journalists received threats after publishing story on Russian mercenaries in Libya

15 October – Roman Badanin, the founder and editor-in-chief of investigative media outlet Proekt, told Reuters about the surveillance, hacking attacks, and threats that Proekt journalists have been subjected to following the publication of a story about Russian mercenaries in the Libyan Civil War earlier this year.

According to Badanin, the journalists who worked on that investigation received explicit threats of physical violence via email. He said that attempts to hack the journalists’ accounts on Facebook, Telegram and Gmail were also made. Badanin referred to an incident in which Maria Karpenko, a Proekt reporter based in Saint Petersburg, was followed by an unidentified man who was filming her. Badanin said he believed that it was useless to report the threats to the police, and that he believed that publicity might be a better way to protect the journalists.

Since March Proekt has published reports on the activities of a Russian mercenary group known as CHVK Vagnera and linked to Saint Petersburg businessman Evgeny Prigozhin. The press service of his firm Konkord Management & Consulting refused to give a comment to Reuters.

Links:

https://www.proekt.media/investigation/prigozhin-libya/

ttps://ru.reuters.com/article/topNews/idRUKBN1WU252-ORUTP

https://tvrain.ru/news/zhurnalisty_proekta-495495/?fbclid=IwAR1tmNVK1QkUSVwLNDRcWhKJ5mt99OUT1MxGn_lPl_2aMCutwsFVheJvwfo

Category: Intimidation, DDoS/Hacking/Doxing 

Source(s) of violation: Corporation/Company, Known private individual(s), Unknown

 

Yaroslavl journalist’s car burnt out 

13 October – On the night of 12 October, the car of Marina Borbat was set on fire and burnt out, Regnum news agency reported. Borbat is the director of Yaroslavl regional broadcaster DIA-TV. Borbat believes the arson could be related to a previous conflict with a local crime boss.

According to Igor Yamshikov of the All-Russia People’s Front movement, posting on the Yaroslavl branch’s Facebook page, said they believe that the arson attack was linked to Borbat’s journalistic activities.

According to Yamshikov, Borbat had a run-in with a crime boss, after her filming equipment went missing while she was covering a story on 26 September 2017. Borbat reportedly filed a complaint to the police, and a similar complaint was filed by the editor of Severyanka local newspaper, but the police did not find any wrongdoing on the part of the crime boss.

In a separate case, the crime boss was reportedly found guilty of hooliganism and sent to prison. He is due to be released shortly. Borbat said that while she had no evidence that the damage of her car was linked to the crime boss, she knew that several people who had conflicts with him had their cars burnt out.

Links:

https://lenizdat.ru/articles/1156388/?fbclid=IwAR3NNblx_QVDyjP6NA5Us1nLJ9kFdUPym4Li3v9rQrcSK66pSH88Y18z8mI

https://regnum.ru/news/accidents/2748889

https://sobesednik.ru/proisshestviya/20191016-u-redaktora-telekanala-v-yaroslavskoj-oblasti-sgorela-mashina

Category: Intimidation/Attack to Property

Source(s) of violation: Unknown

 

MBH Media journalist detained in Moscow

7 October – Nikita Maslovsky, a reporter with MBH Media, was detained along with Bessrochny Protest [Eternal Protest] activists while covering their activities in Moscow, MBH Media reported. The activists were planning to stage an anti-Putin protest at Kutuzovsky Prospekt imitating president Putin’s funeral, but were intercepted by the police.

Although Maslovsky was just covering the demonstration, he was also detained by police. He had tried to show police his press identification, but they ignored it. They refused to state the reason for his detention. Maslovsky was taken to a police van, where police tried to confiscate his phone. After more than five hours, the journalist was released without charge.

Links:

https://mbk-news.appspot.com/news/v-moskve-polic/

https://tvrain.ru/news/v_moskve_zaderzhali_aktivistov_bessrochnogo_protesta_i_zhurnalista_mbh_media-495002/?fbclid=IwAR3yPwVy0kYM8_xz4Ed5AkuB3toi3bkjT4M_6GQf6EK4JYGEyzYgajG–lA

Category: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation

Source(s) of violation: Police/State security

 

Editor of Magadan media outlet Vesma assaulted in his house

3 October – Andrey Grishin, chief editor of independent online news agency Vesma, was beaten on the staircase of his apartment building in Magadan, Vesma reported.

Around 10:30 am, a young man knocked on Grishin’s door, saying that he had accidentally crashed into his car in the courtyard and asking the journalist to come down with him. When Grishin came out, there were two other men waiting. They attacked him and after reportedly punching him 15-20 times, one of them said to him: “Do you understand? Don’t write anything like that anymore”. The journalist said he didn’t sustain any serious injuries and that he didn’t know which particular story they were referring to.

Updates:

18 October – Magadan police reportedly detained two male suspects, aged 19 and 27. Both are pleading guilty. The police opened a criminal case against them under article 116 of Russia’s Criminal Code (physical violence).

21 October – Telegram channel Sovest Gubernatorov [Governors’ Conscience] reported, citing the police sources, that the testimonies of the detained suspects were classified, and the case against them was downgraded to an administrative violation due to the possible involvement of a local deputy Eduard Kozlov from the ruling party United Russia. According to the Telegram channel, the suspects mentioned in their testimony that Kozlov was the mastermind of the attack.

Links:

http://vesma.today/news/post/10616-v-magadane-napali-na-redaktora?fbclid=IwAR1nx8X-x-wQDOZt_q6fPCO5LEJbUNJCBFch7blp2P3f4WydnuppRVeLgfE

https://www.svoboda.org/a/30207298.html

https://49.xn--b1aew.xn--p1ai/news/item/18646886/

https://t.me/guber2

http://vesma.today/news/post/11006-v-telegram-kanalakh-poyavilas-versiya-

Category: Physical Assault/Injury, Intimidation

Source(s) of violation: Unknown, Known Private Individuals

 

Editors of Pskov outlets summoned for questioning over Prokopeva case

3 October – Maxim Kostikov, editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy-Pskov radio station, and Alexander Savenko, editor-in-chief of Pskovskaya Lenta Novostey, were summoned for questioning to the police department over Svetalana Prokopeva’s case, Novaya Gazeta reported.

In September Prokopeva, a radio journalist with Ekho Moskvy, was charged with justifying terrorism over her comments about Arkhangelsk FSB office bombing, which she made on the radio late last year.

Due to a non-disclosure agreements, the editors were not in a position to discuss the nature of the questioning. On 1 October both outlets, along with a dozen other media outlets, published an open letter written by Prokopieva.

Links:

https://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/2019/10/03/155836-glavredov-eha-moskvy-v-pskove-i-pskovskoy-lenty-novostey-vyzvali-na-dopros?fbclid=IwAR35jLnpf1nb-uTMRM6RIaHhhv6IJmAz9y0s4d7A2Ya_el92cwG9qfaECIQ

https://t.me/shlosberg/4021

Category: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation

Source(s) of violation: Police/State security

 

Armed policemen visited office of Chernovik newspaper in Dagestan

2 October – Armed officers of the Dagestan Investigative Committee came to the editorial office of the Makhachkala-based newspaper Chernovik, MBH Media reported. The officers demanded that two offices – those of the editor-in-chief and the paper’s founder – be opened, but because they were at a forum in the city of Perm at the time, the offices remained locked.

The deputy editor-in-chief Magomed Magomedov reportedly said that the Dagestan Investigative Committee’s actions were in the framework of the criminal case against Chernovik journalist, Abdulmumin Gadzhiev, who was detained in June on terrorism charges. On 23 July Gadzhiev was charged under article 205.1 of the Criminal Code (financing terrorism).

Links:

https://t.me/chernovik/12532

https://tvrain.ru/news/v_redaktsiju_dagestanskoj_gazety_chernovik_prishli_siloviki-494656/?fbclid=IwAR3PKP65tgFKQWmkPCRL20Qgc4CDVFWIIasScpkpAI37Mb0c5YIejC9FaH0

https://mbk-news.appspot.com/news/iloviki/

Category: Legal Measures

Source(s) of violation: Police/State security

 

Roskomnadzor blocked website of news agency Fergana

1 October – Roskomnadzor, the Russian state media regulator, blocked access to the website of news agency Fergana without any prior notification, Fergana reported.

Maria Dubnova, Fergana’s editor-in-chief, said that the block came as a complete surprise and that they would investigate the situation. She said that Fergana had already sent a request to Roskomnadzor asking to explain why the access to the website was limited without warning.

Fergana has been covering Central Asia since 1998, and is currently banned in Tajikistan.

Update:

8 October – Roskomnadzor unblocked the website of Fergana news agency after they deleted a news story about a Kyrgyz man’s suicide published in February this year. The agency learned that they were prosecuted for that particular story with the help of Roscomsvoboda project, as the regulator never replied to the agency’s inquiries. Roskomnadzor is known to block websites that publish stories on suicide in which the method is mentioned.

Links:

https://fergana.agency/news/111306/

https://meduza.io/news/2019/10/01/roskomnadzor-zablokiroval-sayt-agentstva-fergana?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=share_fb&utm_campaign=share&fbclid=IwAR0DOdQKH3dbkpqbma2i9pLkFWd-ifyg_RbVA9oNF3e58G-3jr53YJWYIT4

https://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/2019/10/11/156056-roskomnadzor-snova-zablokiroval-sayt-informatsionnogo-agentstva-fergana

https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-49903556

Category: Legal Measures

Source(s) of violation: Police/State security[/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:1575023592087-f59638a3-3b6f-7″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]