Journalism.co.uk Editors' Blog » Russia

RSF: RSF reps refused entry to Moscow on eve of Politkovskaya anniversary

Laura Oliver — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:13:21 +0000

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reports that two of its representatives were denied entry to Moscow on the eve of the third anniversary of Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya’s death.

The press freedom group was planning a news conference and film screening in the city – and will push ahead with these plans.

“We are shocked by this decision, especially as we have always acted openly with the Russian authorities. They decided to prevent us from expressing our solidarity with Russian journalists and human rights activists. Moscow does not want us to address the Russians directly. But we will not give up,” said RSF secretary-general Jean-Francois Julliard, one of the pair denied entry.

Full story at this link…

The Guardian reports on other meetings being held to mark the anniversary of the murder of Politkovskaya.

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Gawker: Crowdsourcing a translation of GQ’s Putin article

Laura Oliver — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:47:07 +0000

Last week Gawker asked readers to help it translate an article into Russian from Conde Nast’s GQ, which the publisher reportedly went to great lengths to prevent from being read in Russia, because it contained criticisms of Vladimir Putin.

A full translation of the article has been completed and the process behind it can be read about at this link.

Issues of copyright and press freedom arise from this – Journalism.co.uk will be contacting Gawker to find out more.

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New York Times: New investigation into murder of Anna Politkovskaya

Judith Townend — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:35:50 +0000

Russia’s supreme court has cancelled the retrial of four men accused of involvement in the murder of the investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya and ordered prosecutors to begin a new investigation, reports the New York Times.

Full story at this link…

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RNW: Dutch journalist takes Russia to ECHR

Laura Oliver — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:22:38 +0000

TV reporter Jeroen Akkermans is taking Russia to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the country’s attach on the Georgian city of Gori last August.

Akkermans joins a number of complainants in the case, which was originally brought by relatives of those killed in the attack.

Akkermans’ colleague Stan Storimans was killed while reporting from the Russian-Georgian border for RTL television.

via Dutch journalist takes Moscow to court | Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

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RIA Novosti: Russian media drafts law opposing illegal content sharing

Laura Oliver — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:55:30 +0000

(From last week via Adrian Monck’s blog) Russia’s leading news organisations are proposing draft legislation that would change the legal status of news reports to goods, with fines imposed for publication out of copyright.

“The main goal of the proposed amendments to a number of laws is to turn news into goods which must be paid for,” RIA Novosti editor-in-chief Svetlana Mironyuk said in the report.

Russia’s media landscape is beginning to address the issue of copyright breaches online – but will the country learn from the attempts of other states to tackle this problem?

Full story at this link…

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Mail reports that a Russian journalist has ‘blasted Big Brother Britain’

Judith Townend — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:59:32 +0000

This story appears to be only reported at MailOnline, (let us know if you spot it elsewhere), with 27 comments appearing under the story, to date.

Will Stewart reports that “a Russian journalist believes the level of surveillance is worse in ‘Big Brother Britain’ than it was in Russia during the Soviet era.”

“Irada Zeinalova, who is based in London, said she felt she was being constantly spied on by security cameras.

“She highlighted how in the UK the level of monitoring is such that even rubbish bins have computer chips fitted so councils can check what householders are throwing out.

“‘Security has got absurd,’ she said. ‘I don’t like that level of intrusion into my private life’.”

The Mail’s full story can be found at this link…

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Reuters: Timeline of the Politkovskaya murder trial – three accused walk free

Judith Townend — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:32:45 +0000

“The three men accused of helping murder Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya were found not guilty on Thursday by a Russian court,” Reuters reports.

Follow this link for a Reuters timeline of the Politkovskaya murder trial.

The Guardian reports that “a fourth defendant, Pavel Ryaguzov, a lieutenant colonel in Russia’s FSB spy agency, was acquitted in a separate but related case”.

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Politkovskaya trial: ongoing, open and public

Judith Townend — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:53:43 +0000

After ruling that press and public would be banned from the courtroom for the Anna Politkovskaya murder trial, the Moscow military court has now said that the trial will be open after all, RSF reports. You can also follow Luke Harding at the Guardian. 'We may actually see the judge firing himself,' he reports in this this short audio clip.

Arrest of Ingush news website owner was ‘illegal’, says court

Caoimh McCarthy — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:38:25 +0000

A court in Nazran, the old capital of the Russian republic of Ingushetia, has declared the arrest of opposition website owner, Magomed Yevloyev, as illegal, according to the Yevloyev family lawyer Mussa Pliyev.

Yevloyev, the owner of Ingush Independent news website Ingushetiyra.ru, was shot dead in police custody on August 31 2008.

The court’s declaration was reported on the Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

“This is a first step towards recognising the political nature of the behaviour of the Ingush security forces in this case. We hope that a thorough and impartial investigation will soon be carried out into the exact circumstances of Yevloyev’s death,” said the RSF statement.

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Live streaming from Norwegian journalism event

Judith Townend — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:50:25 +0000

There’s a live video from the Free Media conference at the Norwegian Institute of Journalism in Fredrikstad today, courtesy of Journalisten.no.

You can’t rewind the video but you could opt in at the points you want to (Norwegian time is one hour ahead UK time).

Here’s the programme:

Thursday November 6

10.00
Welcome: Trine Østlyngen, director, The Norwegian Institute of Journalism
Opening remarks: Håkon Gulbrandsen, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

10.15
Strengthening media in the developing world - what does it take to ensure access for people living in poverty? Stephen King, director, BBC World Service Trust

11.15
The Muhammad Cartoons – an imagined clash of civilizations?
Opening remarks: Why I published – and how do I reflect upon my decision today? Flemming Rose, cultural editor, Jyllands-Posten
Panel discussion The caricatures as seen by the press around the world. Presentation of the new anthology summarizing the Muhammad cartoons controversy in several countries with Rose, Elisabeth Eide, researcher at Culcom, University of Oslo, and Risto Kunelius, professor and director of the journalism program at the University of Tampere, Finland
Moderator: Journalist and author Solveig Steien

14.00
Caucasus burning: The need for a free and independent media – and how to develop it? Danish SCOOP with support from International Media Support has started a program to help train journalists and develop media infrastructure in the Caucasus. The first national seminars were held last month in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. With Antti Kuusi, country coordinator, International Media Support; editor Boris Navasardian, Yerevan Press Club; and former Russia-correspondent Arne Egil Tønset, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, who recently returned from a journey in the region. Moderator: Aage Borchgrevink , writer and advisor at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee

16.00
A Cameroonian journalist in exile: Philip Njaru and Jan Gunnar Furuly, SKUP/GIJC

Friday November 7

09.00
A thousand words – the camera as a tool. Well-known Iranian photographer Reza presents his “100 photos for press freedom”

09.45
Safety for journalists. A global overview. Sarah de Jong, Deputy Director and Project Manager INSI (International News Safety Institute).

10.30
Conflict-ridden Colombia: The role of the media
A journalist’s perspective: From death threats to a life in exile – reflections from Maria Cristina Caballero
Followed by a panel discussion where Jan Egeland, former UN Under-secretary general and the secretary general’s special adviser on Colombia, and NRK-journalist Sigrun Slapgard, will join. Moderator: Journalist and former Latin-America- correspondentHaakon Børde

11.30
Closing speech: Former presidential candidate and FARC-hostage Ingrid Betancourt

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