PRESSROOM: RFE/RL Relaunches Gandhara Website As One-Stop Shop For Afghanistan, Pakistan News
INCIDENTS AND THREATS
Journalists Protest 'Enforced Censorship' In Pakistan's Media Industry
Dozens of Pakistani journalists were joined by local former parliamentarians in Islamabad to protest against what they say is enforced censorship. During the October 22 protest, the journalists demanded the reopening of television channels suspended from broadcasting by Pakistan's state media regulator because of "illegal transmission of news and current affairs content." (Gandhara)
Court In Minsk Sentences Journalists To 13-15 Days In Jail
Three Belarusian journalists covering protests in Minsk over the October 17-18 weekend were sentenced for participating in an unauthorized rally and insubordination to police officers. Daria Spevak from the TUT.BY portal was sentenced to 13 days during a closed court session; photojournalist Vadim Zamirovsky of TUT.BY and BelaPAN correspondent Vsevolod Zarubin have been sentenced to 15 days. (in Russian, Current Time TV)
Reporters Without Borders Appeals To UN Over The Situation Faced By Journalists In Belarus
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on October 22 formally appealed to the United Nations, asking the UN to condemn “unprecedented brutal pressure” on journalists and censorship in Belarus in the wake of the events following the August presidential election. RSF also called for an investigation into violations of journalists' rights, including at the international level, and called for those responsible to be punished. (Ukrainian Service)
Russian Journalist Shevchenko Says He Is Ready To Sue Prigozhin
A Kremlin-connected businessman, Yevgeny Prigozhin, also known as “Putin's chef,” filed a lawsuit "to protect [his] honor and dignity" against journalist Maxim Shevchenko, who, in his August 26 livestream on YouTube, argued that Prigozhin was silent about the known facts of the murder of three Russian journalists - Orkhan Dzhemal, Alexander Rastorguev, and Kirill Radchenko, who were in the Central African Republic in July 2018 to work on an investigative film about Prigozhin’s activities. Speaking to Russian media, Shevchenko stated that he was ready to meet with Prigozhin in court, although the businessman, in his opinion, would be afraid to participate in the process himself. (Russian Service)
Prosecutor’s Office Confirms Charges Against Ex-Police Officers In Golunov Case
Russian media reports that the country's General Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed an indictment against the former police officers who detained journalist Ivan Golunov in June 2019. According to investigators, the accused officers planted drugs on Golunov for career reasons, in order to increase their performance. Golunov was detained, and then released several days later after the charges were dropped following a public outcry. The case sparked an investigation into his detainment and also into why Golunov suffered bruises, cuts, a concussion, and a broken rib during the ordeal. (Russian Service)
Journalist In Russian Far East Says He Was Abducted, Threatened by Masked Men
A journalist who covered the ongoing protests in Russia's Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk was reportedly kidnapped and threatened by unknown masked individuals. A coordinator of the opposition group Open Russia, Sergei Naumov, told RFE/RL on October 16 that journalist Sergei Plotnikov, was abducted the previous night. Plotnikov, a reporter for the RusNews YouTube channel, called his colleagues in the morning and told them that he was in a forest near a cemetery and asked for help.
Editor-In-Chief Of Kuzbass Internet Publication Announces Hunger Strike Because Of Court Bailiffs
Natalya Zubkova, the editor-in-chief of the online publication “Novosti Kiselevsk,” in Russia’s Kuzbass region in southwest Siberia, went on a hunger strike because of the actions of court bailiffs, who she says acted as if they could do “anything to her.” The journalist claims that she had previously settled her debt in full, and linked the persecution to a former bailiffs department employee, Anton Reutov. Zubkova’s debt was the result of a lost lawsuit to protect the honor and dignity of Reutov, Zubkova was sentenced to pay compensation and publish a retraction. (Russian Service/Siberia Realities)
Case Of Daghestan Journalist Hajiyev Sent To Court
A criminal case has been filed against the editor of Daghestan’s Chernovik newspaper Abdulmumin Hajiyev, as well as businessman Kemal Tambiev, and the head of the Ansar charitable foundation Abubakar Rizvanov, who have been accused of financing terrorism. The Memorial Human Rights Center has declared Hajiyev a political prisoner, and the human rights organization Amnesty International has recognized him as a prisoner of conscience. (Russian Service/Kavkaz Realii)