Glasnost defence foundation digest No. 691

12 January 2015

GLASNOST DEFENCE FOUNDATION

Media-related conflicts registered by GDF Monitoring Service on RF territory during 2014

TOTAL NUMBER of conflicts recorded: 1,658, vs. 1, 686 in 2013; 1,686 in 2012; 1,636 in 2011; and 1,503 in 2010

Deaths of journalists – 5, vs.4 in 2013; 4 in 2012; 6 in 2011; 12 in 2010; 9 in 1009; 5 in 2008; and 8 in 2007

Vitaly Voznyuk, correspondent, Prizyv newspaper, Pskov Region; Galina Koshcheyeva, chief editor, district newspaper Rodnoy Krai, Kirov Region; Timur Kuashev, correspondent for Kavkazskaya Politika, Kavkazskiy Uzel and Dosh, Nalchik; Valery Donskoy, freelance journalist, Moscow Region; Anton Kostylev, chief producer, Russia Today news agency, Moscow

Attacks on journalists – 58, vs. 71 in 2013; 94 in 2012; 81 in 2011; 58 in 2010; 59 in 2009; 69 in 2008; and 75 in 2007

January: Yuri Surin, photojournalist, Tverskiye Vedomosti newspaper, Tver; Aleksandr Koryakov, photographer, Kommersant newspaper, St. Petersburg.

February: Anastasia Mironova, Ekho Moskvy radio station journalist, St. Petersburg; Yekaterina Karakulina, reporter, Chastny Interes newspaper, Perm Region; Nikolai Polyakov, reporter, Pravda Goroda Zlatousta newspaper, Chelyabinsk Region

March: Artyom Mamochkin, journalist, Kaluga Vechernyaya newspaper, Kaluga Region; Ilya Lipkind, journalist, finance analyst and saminvestor.ru website owner, Samara.

April: Andrei Kazantsev, videographer, E1.ru web portal, Yekaterinburg; Veronica Svizeva, reporter, web news portal 59.ru, Perm; film crew with Nizhnekamsk TV/Radio Company, Republic of Tatarstan

May: Victoria Litvinova, correspondent, and Alexei Tumanov, cameraman, both of LifeNews TV channel, attacked in Krasnodar; Magomed Abdulayev, chief editor, Meditsina Dagestana newspaper, Makhachkala

June: Sergei Mokrushin, editor, and Vladlen Melnikov, director, both of Investigative Journalism Centre, Simferopol, Crimean Republic

July: Maxim Solopov, correspondent for Russian Planet, Moscow; Arkady Zarubin, chief editor, Arshan newspaper, Republic of Buryatia; Artyom Aleksandrov, correspondent, ZAKS.ru news agency, St. Petersburg; Aleksandr Skobov, author, Grani.ru web news portal, St. Petersburg; film crew with Channel Five, attacked in Rostov Region

August: Vassily Kuchushev and Dmitry Starodubsky, Zvezda TV correspondents, attacked at Gukovo checkpoint, Rostov Region; Aleksandr Yakovenko, cameraman, Gazeta.ru, Moscow; Magomed Khanmagomedov, chief editor, newspaper Derbentskiye Izvestia, Dagestan; Arseniy Vesnin, reporter, Ekho Moskvy v Peterburge radio station, St. Petersburg; Aleksandr Krutov, columnist, Obshchestvennoye Mneniye magazine, Saratov; Nina Petlyanova, Novaya Gazeta reporter, and Irina Tumakova, Fontanka.ru correspondent, both attacked in Pskov region, twice; Vladimir Romensky, Dozhd TV channel correspondent, and Ilya Vasyunin, Russian Planet correspondent, both attacked in Pskov Region, twice; Lev Shlosberg, chief editor and publisher, newspaper Pskovskaya Guberniya, Pskov

September: Artyom Aleksandrov, ZAKS.ru news agency reporter, St. Petersburg; film crew with Revizorro TV news show, attacked in Krasnodar Region; Yuri Romanov, editor, Sibirskiy Gorod newspaper, Irkutsk Region; Ilya Onegin, Vzglyad-Info correspondent, Saratov; Ksenya Batanova, chief producer and anchorwoman, Dozhd TV channel, Moscow; film crew with Precedent TV show, Novosibirsk; film crew with BBC Moscow office, attacked in Astrakhan; Damil Makarychev, newsroom head, Maritime Public Television, Vladivostok; Viktor Tarasov, reporter, Voskresensk.ru news portal, Moscow Region; Dmitry Florin, freelance journalist, Moscow; Dmitry Kiselyov, cameraman, Super.ru news portal, Moscow

October: Maksim Zakharov, chief editor, Smolenskaya Narodnaya Gazeta newspaper, Smolensk; film crew with Rossiya TV Channel, Moscow; Dmitry Shevchenko, press secretary, North Caucasus Ecological Watch group, Krasnodar; Dmitry Florin, freelance reporter, Moscow; film crew with Alpha TV Channel, Blagoveshchensk; German Panteleyev, cameraman, 360 Podmoskovye TV Channel, Moscow; Aleksandr Muchayev, reporter, Ridus news website, Moscow; film crew with LifeNews TV Channel, Moscow; Ilya Azovsky, chief editor, Ekho Russkogo Severa, Arkhangelsk; REN TV film crew, Saratov; Ivan Vaganov, correspondent, Tsentralnaya Gazeta newspaper, Ulan-Ude; film crew with Arig Us Radio/TV Company, Ulan-Ude; REN TV film crew, Moscow

November: REN-TV film crew, Moscow; Ilya Azovsky, chief editor, Pravda Severo-Zapada newspaper, Arkhangelsk; Artur Akhmetgaliyev, journalist, 100 TV channel, St. Petersburg; Konstantin Rodionov, journalist, Sport-34 channel, Volgograd Region; film crew of Kontrolny Zvonok TV show, twice, Orenburg; Sergei Pichugin, correspondent, Mesto Proisshestviya TV show, Kirov

December: Yevgeniy Mezdrikov, chief editor, Taiga.info news portal, Novosibirsk

Attacks on media offices, TV/radio stations – 1, vs. 4 in 2013; 4 in 2012; 4 in 2011; 8 in 2010; 10 in 2009; 7 in 2008; and 11 in 2007

Komanda radio station, Moscow

Instances of censorship – 33, vs. 33 in 2013; 46 in 2012; 52 in 2011; 29 in 2010; 33 in 2009; 21 in 2008; and 33 in 2007

Ulagannyn Solundary newspaper, Republic of Altai; Dozhd TV channel, Moscow; media in Dagestan; Za Doblestnyi Trud newspaper, Kaliningrad Region; Znamya district newspaper, Kurgan Region; Channel One, Rossiya 1, NTV, RIA Novosti, Rossiya 24 television channels, Moscow; Interfax news agency, Moscow; Vsyo O Zhizni Kemskogo Rayona newspaper, Republic of Karelia; Kamchatka news agency, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky; Rolling Stone magazine, Moscow edition; Russian Planet web publication, Moscow; Ekho Moskvy v Peterburge website, and EkhoYezhenedelnik newspaper website, both based in St. Petersburg; website of newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, Ivanovo; Govorit Moskva radio, Moscow; media in Kostomuksha, Karelia; Respublika news website, Karelia; Mayak newspaper, Vladimir Region; Lada FM radio station, Samara Region; Tikhookeanskaya Zvezda newspaper, Khabarovsk, censored twice; CTC channel, Moscow; Novyi Region news agency, Yekaterinburg; media in Sakhalin Region; Ekho Moskvy radio station, Moscow; media in Chuvashia; LifeNews website, Moscow; Bolshoi Futbol TV show, Rossiya 2 TV channel; Tribuna Severa news agency, Arkhangelsk; Khakassiya news agency, Khakassia

Criminal charges against journalists and media – 24, vs. 28 in 2013; 42 in 2012; 42 in 2011; 45 in 2010; 37 in 2009; 47 in 2008; and 46 in 2007

Dmitry Remizov, RosBalt news agency correspondent, Rostov-on-Don; Andrei Chelnokov, chairman, Novosibirsk Region Journalists’ Union, Novosibirsk; Valery Uskov, journalist, Pravda Goroda Zlatousta newspaper, Chelyabinsk Region; Musa Abadiyev, freelance journalist, Ingushetia; Andrei Volkov, editor, Novo-tomsk.ru web news portal, Tomsk; Roman Yushkov, Zvezda newspaper, Perm; Pavel Nikolayev, chief editor, newspaper Antikorruptsionnyi Front, Pskov; Andrei Sergeyev, freelance journalist, Novosibirsk; Sergei Shchukin, chief editor, newspaper Den, Izhevsk; Konstantin Zharinov, blogger, Chelyabinsk; Sergei Reznik, independent journalist and blogger, Rostov-on-Don; Sergei Selivanov, freelancer, Omsk; Eduard Mochalov, chief editor, newspaper Vzyatka, Chuvashia; Dmitry Larkovich, chief editor, newspaper Vremya, Leningrad Region; newspaper Izvestia Mordovii, Saransk; Aleksandr Byvshev, freelance journalist, Orel Region; Igor Makarov, chief editor, ChelNovosti.ru news agency, Chelyabinsk; Andrei Marchenko, blogger, Khabarovsk; Pavel Shekhtman, freelance journalist, Moscow; Yevgeny Kurakin, reporter, Printsip newspaper, Moscow Region; Igor Madasov, freelance journalist, Irkutsk; Dmitry Shipilov, freelance journalist, Kemerovo; Oleg Potapenko, editor, Amurburg web publication, Khabarovsk; Natalia Krutskikh, chief editor, Den TV show, Komi Republic

Illegal sacking of editor, journalist – 23, vs. 21 in 2013; 16 in 2012; 28 in 2011; 31 in 2010; 15 in 2009; 13 in 2008; and 12 in 2007

Marina Afanaskina, editor, Ononskaya Pravda newspaper, Trans-Baikal Region; Tatyana Tadyyeva, chief editor, Ulagannyn Solundary newspaper, Republic of Altai; Olga Kuzminykh, chief editor, Znamya district newspaper, Kurgan Region; Aleksandr Yerenko, journalist, UralInform, Perm; Galina Timchenko, chief editor, Lenta.ru, Moscow; Vladimir Semago, anchor, Stolitsa.fm radio station, Moscow; Igor Barinov and Yevgeniya Karaseva, editors, Omskaya Pravda media holding, Omsk; Vladimir Afanasenko, chief editor, Olkhovskiye Vesti newspaper, Volgograd Region; Sergei Tuvakin, executive editor, Ridus publication, Moscow; Vassily Magis, general director, Dialog TV/Radio Company, Irkutsk Region; Irina Karatsuba, anchorwoman, Govorit Moskva radio, Moscow; Roman Arbitman, reporter, Saratovskaya Oblastnaya Gazeta, Saratov; Zure Pinka, Elmaz Veliyeva, Suriye Ibragimova, Arzy Selimova, Ediye Ablayeva, and Aider Yagyayev, all six are journalists with Crimean Tatar creative group at Krym State TV/Radio Company, Simferopol; Aleksandr Plyushchev, Ekho Moskvy radio station anchorman, Moscow; Aleksandr Levashov, director, TVcom television, Ulan-Ude; Pavel Pryanikov, chief editor, Russian Planet, Moscow; Natalia Sumina, chief editor, Pushchino News Agency, Moscow Region

Detention by police, FSB, etc. – 103, vs. 84 in 2013; 153 in 2012; 132 in 2011; 90 in 2010; 62 in 2009; 78 in 2008; and 140 in 2007

January: Yuri Surin, photo correspondent, Tverskiye Vedomosti newspaper, Tver; Dmitry Vokhmintsev, reporter, 7x7 web news portal, Kirov; Oleg Sukhov, correspondent, The Moscow Times, Moscow; film crew of Den TV news show, Republic of Komi; Ivan Sedush, journalist, Channel 23, Rostov Region; Pierre Avril, correspondent, Le Figaro, detained in Dagestan

February: Valery Nechai, Arseny Vesnin and Maksim Yarygin, reporters for Ekho Peterburga radio station, St. Petersburg; Dmitry Zykov, Grani.ru correspondent, Moscow; Olga Zazulya, correspondent, Yabloko na Kubani newspaper, Krasnodar; Andrei Novichkov, Grani.ru correspondent, Moscow; Andrei Zubets, freelance journalist, Moscow; Yevgeny Feldman, Novaya Gazeta photo correspondent, and Anastasia Kirilenko, Radio Liberty reporter – both of Krasnodar Region; Sergei Parkhomenko, Filipp Dzyadko and Veronica Kutsyllo, freelance journalists, Pyotr Parkhomenko, Kommersant FM correspondent, Maria Baronova, Dozhd TV channel reporter, and Yelena Kostyuchenko, Novaya Gazeta correspondent – all six of Moscow; Aleksandr Litoy, RBK correspondent, and Vladimir Romensky, Dozhd TV channel reporter – both of Moscow; Andrei Novichkov, Grani.ru correspondent, Alexei Bachinsky and Yevgeny Ukhmylin, Kasparov.ru staffers – all three of Moscow; Alexei Zakharov, Vedomosti correspondent, Yevgeny Levkovich and Sergei Parkhomenko, freelance journalists – all three of Moscow; Yevgeny Babushkin, newsroom head with Snob magazine – detained in Krasnodar Region; Valery Uskov, reporter, Pravda Goroda Zlatousta newspaper, Chelyabinsk Region; Anatoly Buzinsky, Dozhd TV channel correspondent, St. Petersburg; Andrei Poznyakov, Ekho Moskvy correspondent, Yevgeny Safronov, Gazeta.ru correspondent, and Olga Romanova, freelance journalist – all three of Moscow; Dmitry Golubovsky, chief editor, Esquire magazine, Moscow – detained twice

March: Andrei Filimonov, freelance journalist, detained in Moscow; Daniil Turovsky, Lenta.ru correspondent, Moscow; Semyon Zakruzhny, correspondent, Dozhd TV Channel, Moscow; Pavel Mitskievich, correspondent, Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belarusi, detained in Bryansk Region; Anna Boka, newsroom editor, and Pavel Bondarenko, cameraman, Ukrainian TV Channel 1+1, both detained in Vladikavkaz; Valery Badmayev, editor, Sovermennaya Kalmykiya newspaper, Elista; Pavel Andreyev, staff member, 7x7 web magazine, Syktyvkar, detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport

April: Oleg Krishtopa, reporter, and Orest Pona, cameraman, with Ukraine’s Channel 5, both detained in Bryansk Region; Idris Yusupov, correspondent, Novoye Delo newspaper, Makhachkala

May: Channel Four film crew, Yekaterinburg; Andrei Zubets, freelance photographer, and Natalya Gorilskaya, staffer with Italian publication Russian Riviera, both of Moscow; Sergei Shchukin, chief editor, Den newspaper, Izhevsk; Yuri Mamon, correspondent, and Dmitry Podenko, cameraman, both of ICTV, Ukraine, Waclaw Radzivinovicz, correspondent for Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland, Nikolai Semena, correspondent, Den newspaper, Kiev, and Lenyara Abibullayeva, freelancer, all five detained in Simferopol, Crimea; Artur Moryakov, freelancer, Simferopol, Crimea; Osman Pashayev, chief editor, Otkrytyi Krymskiy Kanal web project, Simferopol, Crimea

June: Sergei Mokrushin, editor, and Vladlen Melnikov, both of Investigative Journalism Centre, Simferopol, Crimean Republic; Anna Sharogradskaya, director, Regional Press Institute, detained at Pulkovo airport, St. Petersburg; Vladimir Volokhonsky, correspondent, Grani.ru, and Pyotr Kovalev, Reuters journalist, both of St. Petersburg; Anastasia Stanko, Ukrainian national, correspondent for Ukraine’s Gromadskoye TV, detained in Rostov Region; Rodion Chepel, Dozhd TV channel correspondent, detained in Rostov Region; Tatyana Kozyreva, reporter, and Karen Arzumanyan, cameraman, Gromadskoye TV, detained in Sevastopol, Crimea; Victoria Makarenko, Novaya Gazeta correspondent, and Gesine Dornblut, German radio journalist, both detained in Rostov Region

July: Yevgeny Agarkov, Ukrainian TV channel Studio 1+1 correspondent, detained in Voronezh; Oleg Potapenko, chief editor, web publication Amurburg, detained at Khabarovsk airport; Dmitry Larkovich, chief editor, Vremya newspaper, Leningrad Region; Aleksandr Sotnik, freelance journalist, Moscow

August: Igor Makarov, chief editor, ChelNovosti.ru news agency, Chelyabinsk; Maria Borzunova, Sofia Feoktistova and Sergei Kholin, all of Dozhd TV channel, Natalia Zotova, Novaya Gazeta reporter, Dmitry Zykov, Grani.ru correspondent, and Filipp Kireyev, freelance journalist – all detained in Moscow Region; Maria Masyutina, reporter, Grazhdanskiy Golos newspaper, and Stepan Strogin, freelance journalist – both detained in Moscow Region; Andrei Novichkov, Grani.ru correspondent, Moscow; Yelena Racheva, Novaya Gazeta correspondent, detained in Rostov Region; Igor Gashkov, Nezavisimaya Gazeta correspondent, detained in Tver Region; Mikhail Pustovoy, freelance journalist, detained in Altai Republic; Maxim Sobeskiy, Novy Region news agency correspondent, detained twice in Altai Republic; Natalya Fonina, Vladivostok-based Arsenyevskiye Vesti correspondent, detained in Moscow; Vladimir Schreidler, freelance journalist, Moscow; Sergei Kovalchenko, chief editor, and Sergei Zorin, correspondent, Telegraf news agency, St. Petersburg, both detained in Pskov Region; Dmitry Florin, freelance journalist, Moscow

September: Sergei Kovalchenko, chief editor, Telegraf news agency, St. Petersburg; Aleksandra Skochilenko, correspondent, NGO Nablyudateli Peterburga, St. Petersburg, detained twice; Dmitry Shipilov, Newskuzbass.ru news website correspondent, detained in Moscow Region; Aleksandr Sotnik and Maria Orlovskaya, freelance journalists, Moscow; Mikhail Fedorov and Yelena Zabolotnykh, correspondents, Novaya Gazeta v Peterburge newspaper, St. Petersburg; Orkhan Jemal, Forbes correspondent, detained at Domodedovo Airport, Moscow; Anton Naumlyuk, correspondent, Versiya-Saratov news agency, Saratov

October: Pavel Shekhtman, freelance journalist, Moscow; Oleg Baturin, reporter, Ukrainian newspaper Novy Den’, Kherson – detained in Crimea; Randy Covington and Joe Bergantino, freelance American reporters – detained in St. Petersburg; Yevgeny Kurakin, reporter, Printsip newspaper, Moscow Region

November: Sergei Popov, freelance journalist, Stavropol, twice; Oleg Potapenko, chief editor, independent publication Amurburg, Khabarovsk; Ivan Sedush, journalist, Pervaya Narodnaya Gazeta, Rostov Region; Andrei Novichkov, correspondent, Grani.ru, Moscow; Igor Madasov, freelance journalist, Irkutsk; REN-TV film crew, Moscow; Larisa Shchiryakova, Belarussian freelance journalist, detained in Bryansk Region

December: Igor Makarov, chief editor, ChelNovosti.ru news website, Chelyabinsk; Yevgeniya Albats, chief editor, The New Times, Moscow; Yelena Sidarenkova, correspondent, Rabochaya Demokratiya newspaper, Moscow; Natalia Krutskikh, chief editor, Den TV show, Komi Republic; Aleksandr Kolyandr, correspondent, The Wall Street Journal, Moscow; Nikolai Solodnikov, reporter, 100TV, St. Petersburg

Denial of access to information – 392 (including bans on audio/video recording and photography; denials of accreditation; restrictions on visits to or presence at events held in government agencies, at industrial enterprises, in state institutions, etc.), vs. 327 in 2013; 358 in 2012; 404 in 2011; 314 in 2010; 320 in 2009; 280 in 2008; and 238 in 2007

Threats against journalists and media – 35, vs. 39 in 2013; 69 in 2012; 66 in 2011; 46 in 2010; 60 in 2009; 35 in 2008; and 27 in 2007

CNN office in Moscow; Artyom Mamochkin, journalist, Kaluga Vechernyaya newspaper, Kaluga Region; film crew with Nizhnekamsk TV/Radio Company, Republic of Tatarstan; staffers of Ekho Moskvy radio station, Moscow; Arkady Zarubin, chief editor, Arshan newspaper, Republic of Buryatia; Andrei Voronin, deputy editor-in-chief, newspaper Novaya Gazeta v Peterburge, St. Petersburg; Aleksandr Valov, independent blogger, Krasnodar Region; Sergei Buryndin, chief editor, Gazeta Na Dom newspaper, Birobijan; Eduard Shmonin, editor, Yugra Public TV, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District; Vladimir Romensky, Dozhd TV channel correspondent, Ilya Vasyunin, Russian Planet correspondent, Nina Petlyanova, Novaya Gazeta reporter, and Irina Tumakova, Fontanka.ru correspondent – all four threatened in Pskov Region; Dmitry Florin, freelance journalist, Moscow, twice; Raufa Rakhimova, publisher, Bonus newspaper, Ufa; Igor Tupalsky, founder, Telegraf news agency, St. Petersburg; Ilya Onegin, correspondent, Vzglyad-Info news agency, Saratov; film crew with Vesti-Novosibirsk news show, Novosibirsk; Mikhail Fedorov and Yelena Zabolotnykh, correspondents, Novaya Gazeta v Peterburge newspaper, St. Petersburg; film crew with Maritime Public Television, Vladivostok; Dmitry Kiselev, cameraman, Super.ru news portal, Moscow; Maksim Rumyantsev, KRIK-TV special reporter – threatened twice; journalists with Pravda Severo-Zapada newspaper, Arkhangelsk; Maksim Zakharov, chief editor, Smolenskaya Narodnaya Gazeta newspaper, Smolensk; Dmitry Yezhov, chief editor and owner of Ulpressa news portal, Ulyanovsk; Oleg Baturin, reporter, Ukrainian newspaper Novy Den’, Kherson – threatened in Crimea; Dmitry Shevchenko, press secretary, North Caucasus Ecological Watch, Krasnodar; Dmitry Florin, freelance journalist, Moscow; film crew with Alpha TV channel, Blagoveshchensk; Ivan Vaganov, correspondent, Tsentralnaya Gazeta newspaper, Ulan-Ude; Artur Akhmetgaliyev, journalist, 100 TV channel, St. Petersburg; film crew, Kontrolny Zvonok TV show, Orenburg; Vladlena Shvab, photojournalist, Yuzhnouralskaya Panorama newspaper, Chelyabinsk; Aleksandr Sotnik, journalist, SotnikTV public/political channel, Moscow

Ejection of a newspaper, etc., from its premises - 5, vs. 4 in 2013; 6 in 2012; 7 in 2011; 2 in 2010; 1 in 2009; 5 in 2008; and 7 in 2007

Ekho Moskvy radio station, Moscow; Ekho newspaper, Blagoveshchensk; Perm Region Journalists’ Union; newspaper Avdet, Crimean Republic; Dozhd TV Channel, Moscow

Refusal to print (or distribute) media - 11, vs. 7 in 2013; 12 in 2012; 27 in 2011; 24 in 2010; 15 in 2009; 30 in 2008; and 34 in 2007

Cherkessk: Vchera, Segodnya, Zavtra newspaper, Republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia; Ononskaya Pravda newspaper, Trans-Baikal Region; Krasnaya Stroka newspaper, Orel; newspaper No. 1, Barnaul; Nasha Versiya Mariy El Chuvashia, AiF Chuvashia and MK v Cheboksarakh newspapers, each twice, Chuvashia

Disruption of TV or radio broadcasts – 36, vs. 15 in 2013; 11 in 2012; 11 in 2011; 12 in 2010; 21 in 2008; and 27 in 2007

Dozhd TV channel – in Yekaterinburg, St. Petersburg, Ufa, Perm, Yaroslavl, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd, Moscow and Moscow Region, Voronezh, Kurgan, Cheboksary, Tomsk, Chelyabinsk, Kursk, Novosibirsk, Abakan, Surgut, Omsk, Penza, Yoshkar-Ola and Ryazan, Barnaul, Blagoveshchensk, Irkutsk and Khabarovsk; The Voice of America, Moscow; TV-2 channel, Tomsk; Channel One, blocked in Volgograd Region; Vashe Obshchestvennoye Televideniye channel, St. Petersburg; GTRK Omsk, Omsk; VOT TV channel, St. Petersburg; 37 Channel, Rostov Region; Ekho Moskvy Makhachkala radio station, Dagestan; CNN

Closure of media – 15, vs. 20 in 2013; 18 in 2012; 23 in 2011; 62 in 2010; 82 in 2009; 41 in 2008; and 15 in 2007

Print edition of Bolshoi Gorod magazine, Moscow; Itogi magazine, Moscow; Svobodnyye Novosti news show, Perm; Sol TV channel, Yekaterinburg; Shkola Zlosloviya talk show, Moscow; newspaper Pervoye Sentyabrya, Moscow; newspaper Vedomosti-Pyatnitsa, Moscow; newspaper Nevskiye Novosti, St. Petersburg; TV show “Weekly News with Marianna Maksimovskaya”, Moscow; VOT TV channel, St. Petersburg; Krasnoye Znamya newspaper, Komi Republic; Tvoy Gorod Ozyory newspaper, Moscow Region; The St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg; Na Rublevke and Novosti Na Novoi Rige newspapers, both in Moscow Region; print edition of Sekret Firmy magazine, Moscow

Withdrawal, purchase or arrest of print run – 17, vs.41 in 2013; 23 in 2012; 50 in 2011; 23 in 2010; 19 in 2009; 31 in 2008; and 92 in 2007

Novaya Gazeta v Ryazani newspaper, Ryazan Region; Sovremennaya Kalmykiya newspaper, Elista; Maloyaroslavetsky Krai and Mayar newspapers, both based in Kaluga Region; Gorozhanin-Irkutsk newspaper, Irkutsk; Metro Gazeta newspaper, Novosibirsk; Populyarnaya Politika newspaper, Moscow Region; newspaper Novoye Zerkalo, Moscow Region; newspaper No. 1, Barnaul; newspaper Vzyatka, Chuvashia; Yabloko Party’s newspapers, Moscow, twice; newspaper Listok, Republic of Altai – thrice; newspaper Provintsiya–Severo-Zapad, Leningrad Region; Populyarnaya Politika newspaper, Vologda

Interference with internet publications – 59, vs. 61 in 2013; 73 in 2012; 76 in 2011; 58 in 2010; 57 in 2009; 40 in 2008; and 41 in 2007

chugunka.net – Solnechnogorskaya Gazeta newspaper, Moscow Region; website of Vedomosti newspaper, Moscow; LifeNews TV channel’s website; Russia Today TV channel’s website; website of Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper; websites of News Media Holding; Channel One’s website, twice; Spravedlivaya Gazeta newspaper’s website, Moscow; website of Kopeisky Rabochiy newspaper, Chelyabinsk Region; Kremlin.ru website; LiveJournal.ru website; Ekho Moskvy radio station’s website; Lenta.ru news agency’s website, twice; Grani.ru, Kasparov.ru, Yezhednevny Zhurnal websites; RIA Novosti news agency’s website; news website Regiony Rossii, Moscow; website of Parlamentskaya Gazeta newspaper, Moscow; news website Zaraiskiy Partizan, Moscow Region; website of Gazeta.ru news agency, Moscow; websites of newspapers LifeNews, Izvestia, Tvoy Den, Zhizn, and Marker, Bubble magazine, RSN radio station, and web news portal Heat.ru, all based in Moscow; websites of RIA Novosti and InoSMI, Moscow; website Novy Smysl, St. Petersburg; website of Dialog news agency, St. Petersburg; Ukrainian websites Tsenzor.Net, Glavnoye and Novy Region – all three interfered with on Crimean territory; website Pravdabeslana.ru, twice; Zavuch.info, Moy Rayon, Nablyudateli Peterburga, Zaks.ru websites, all based in St. Petersburg; Russia Today website; Vladtime.ru website; website of Russian News Service, Moscow; PenzaNews, Penza, twice; website of web publication Penza-Sport, Penza; website of MediaGvardiya movement, Moscow; Taiga.info news website, Novosibirsk; website of Crimean News Agency, Simferopol; SotnikTV website, Moscow; Express-Kamchatka-Online news site, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky; Slon.ru website, Moscow

Issue of duplicate, i.e. rival, publications – 1, vs. 9 in 2013; 9 in 2012; 15 in 2011; 13 in 2010; 2 in 2009; 13 in 2008; and 14 in 2007

Ploshchad Mira newspaper, Moscow Region

Seizure of, or damage to, photo, video or audio apparatus and computers – 34, vs. 35 in 2013; 43 in 2012; 25 in 2011; 21 in 2010; and 25 in 2009

Photo camera of Aleksandr Koryakov, photographer, Kommersant newspaper, St. Petersburg; PC of Dmitry Remizov, RosBalt news agency correspondent, Rostov-on-Don; video camera of NTV film crew, Moscow; PC of Ivan Sedush, journalist, Pervaya Narodnaya Gazeta newspaper and Channel 23 correspondent, Rostov Region; camera of videographer for news portal E1.ru, Yekaterinburg; camera of videographer for UralInform news portal, Perm; camera of Nizhnekamsk TV/Radio Company, Republic of Tatarstan; camera of Kazan TV/Radio Company, Republic of Tatarstan; video camera of Grani.ru, seized in Moscow Region; video camera of LifeNews TV channel, seized in Krasnodar; video equipment of ICTV, Ukraine, seized in Belgorod Region; computer of Osman Pashayev, chief editor, Otkrytyi Krymskiy Kanal web project, Crimea; computer of Anna Sharogradskaya, director, Regional Press Institute, St. Petersburg, confiscated at Pulkovo airport; computer of TNT-Blitz television company, Murmansk; computer of Vladimir Kozhevnikov, correspondent, newspaper Vzyatka, Chuvashia; office computer of newspaper Vzyatka, Chuvashia; video camera of Revizorro TV show, confiscated in Yaroslavl; video camera of Revizorro TV show, Krasnodar Region; computers of Listok newspaper, Gorno-Altaisk; photo camera of Ilya Onegin, reporter for Vzglyad-Info news agency, Saratov; video camera of Precedent TV show, Novosibirsk; video camera of BBC Moscow Office, damaged in Astrakhan; video camera of Voskresensk.ru news portal, Moscow Region; video camera of Rossiya TV channel, Moscow; video camera of 360 Podmoskovye TV channel, Moscow; video camera of Lifenews TV channel, Moscow; telephone of Ivan Vaganov, correspondent for newspaper Tsentralnaya Gazeta, Ulan-Ude; video camera of Arig Us TV/Radio Company, Ulan-Ude, confiscated in 2012; computers of Den’ TV show, Komi Republic; computer of Amurburg independent publication, Khabarovsk; computer of freelance journalist Igor Madasov, Irkutsk; video camera of REN-TV channel, Moscow; video camera of Alpha Channel, Blagoveshchensk; photo camera of Al Jazeera reporter in Grozny

Administrative pressure (unplanned inspections by sanitary, fire, tax inspectors, etc.) - 10, vs. 7 in 2013; 29 in 2012; 26 in 2011 and 12 in 2010

(Ulangannyn Solundary newspaper, Republic of Altai; Sintez-TV television/radio company, Krasnodar; Sintez-TV television/radio company, Krasnodar; Ekho Moskvy radio station, Moscow; Regional Press Institute, St. Petersburg; Russian Journalists’ Union, Moscow; Polit.ru, BusinessOnline.ru, BFM.ru, and MediaZone.ru news sites, all based in Moscow

Other forms of pressure and infringement of journalists’ rights – 360, vs. 367 in 2013; 356 in 2012; 316 in 2011; 339 in 2010; and 385 in 2009

RUSSIA

Court in Kursk Region turns down local resident’s legal claim against journalists

By Roman Zholud, GDF correspondent in Central Federal District

The Kursk Region Court of Arbitration has completed the hearings of a legal claim in defence of honour, dignity and business reputation lodged against a local publishing house, 46 Region, by Sergei Muravyov, a resident of the town of Kurchatov, in the wake of a televised report aired by the TV-6 channel and an article posted on the publishing house’s website.

The two materials described a criminal case in which Muravyov posed as a witness. Specifically, they said he stood proxy for the accused, had a hand in their fraud schemes, and played a role in breaking up a business company in the Kursk Region. The plaintiff wanted a disclaimer and 1 million roubles in moral damages (see digest 668).

The court on 25 December turned down his legal claim in full.

Chemical company’s legal claim against environmentalists and media partially satisfied in Volgograd

By Roman Zholud, GDF correspondent in Central Federal District

The Volgograd Region Court of Arbitration has reviewed a legal claim lodged by the chemical company Kaustik against the environmental group Volga-Ekspress and a number of regional media and websites.

In January and March 2013, Volga-Ekspress held a series of news briefings to acquaint the press with the content of its report “Kaustic’s chlorine-alkaline production: a ‘hot spot’ in Russia’s mercury contamination”. It also posted the text of the report on its website. Journalists used the facts cited during the news briefings in their publications in regional media and on local websites.

Kaustic turned to the arbitration court asking to declare those publications untrue and damaging to the company’s business reputation. Also, it urged the environmentalists to hold a press conference to announce the court decision, and to publish the latter in those media which earlier published the scandalous information.

It may as well be noted that not only did Kaustik dismiss the charges of water contamination with mercury as groundless but it also demanded a disclaimer of reports on the results of tests showing a high content of mercury in fish and in local residents’ hair.

The court in December 2013 satisfied the claim partially, excluding several statements from the list of “libellous and smearing” ones, but after Kaustik’s appeal, the Volga Federal District Court of Arbitration cancelled that decision and returned the case for review. During the new trial Kaustik voluntarily shortened the list of disputed statements (including those based on test results), while trying to involve in the proceedings as third-party defendants the media outlets and websites that had published Volga-Ekspress’s information.

Finally, the regional arbitration court partially satisfied the claim, recognising some of the environmentalists’ statements as inaccurate and smearing. Now Volga-Ekspress is to call a news conference to announce the court decision and to publish it on its website. The court rejected Kaustik’s demand for the decision to be also published by the media outlets and websites concerned.

Anonymous attack on independent newspaper in Stavropol

By Olga Vassilyeva, GDF correspondent in North Caucasian Federal District

We have more than once written about the main character of numerous publications in the independent newspaper Otkrytaya Gazeta – Svetlana Fomina, head of the Stavropol Settlements Centre (SSC). The head of a commercial firm established by the city administration and imbued with a range of “rights” going beyond effective legislation has continued to defend her honour, dignity and business reputation by all available means – by filing legal claims, complaining to the regional department of the media oversight agency Roskomnadzor (see digest 687), and now by circulating a “collective appeal” to different legislative and executive bodies that abounds in libellous statements accusing Otkrytaya Gazeta and its chief editor, Lyudmila Leontyeva, of alleged violations of the Russian media law. The SSC is presented in the appeal as a bona-fide, law-abiding organisation that has become a target for unfounded critical attacks.

Vladimir Molchanov, a member of the regional NGO ZhKKh-Kontrol (Control over Utility Service Providers), was surprised to find his name among the signatories of the “collective appeal”. He carried out an independent investigation and found out that the other signatures of his ZhKKh-Kontrol colleagues were forged, too. He wrote a disclosing report in Otrkytaya, which read, in part, “The ‘appeal’ is 100% anonymous, and pursuant to effective legislation and all existing ministerial directives, it should have been thrown into the wastepaper basket. Far from it, dozens of guys in shoulder straps rushed to investigate! They were led by officials of investigative bodies and the police, where scores of complaints about fraud and dirty machinations by utility companies and particularly the SSC have been lying unanswered for years or, as a maximum, have given rise to scoffing, purely formal and meaningless replies.” Police and the prosecutor’s office in the Promyshlenny District of Stavropol have for years concealed crimes in the sphere of housing and communal services, which could not but raise suspicions about the law enforcement and oversight agencies’ involvement in protecting a commercial company with a turnover of many billion roubles, Molchanov wrote.

The circulation of the libellous anonymous letter coincided in time with the opening of a criminal case against SSC head Svetlana Fomina on charges of illegal banking activity, Molchanov noted. “The falsifiers attempted to portray me as the initiator and author of the disgusting fake… Now the same prosecutor’s office is actually obligated to arise from hibernation and start a criminal case to investigate the facts and identify the organisers of this large-scale spread of falsehoods.”

NEWS FROM PARTNERS

IFJ report identifies Pakistan as the world’s deadliest country for journalists

The International Federation of Journalists on 31 December published a report designating Pakistan as the world’s deadliest country for journalists in 2014.

According to the IFJ, the world’s largest association of media workers, a total of 14 journalists were killed in Pakistan last year. The second deadliest country was Syria with 12 murdered journalists, followed by Afghanistan and Palestine, with 9 media workers killed in each. The fourth place is shared by Iraq and Ukraine, with 8 journalists murdered in each of the two countries.

Worldwide, according to the IFJ, 118 media workers were killed in 2014 – thirteen persons more than one year before (105 journalist deaths).

Letters

Dear colleagues:

I am again compelled to write about my newspaper Sovremennaya Kalmykiya. On Sunday, December 28, we finished the make-up of a fresh number and emailed it to the printing house in Volgodonsk with which we have a co-operation agreement. I had called them on the phone on Friday, as I always do. They called me back to say the “competent agencies” were showing an interest in our newspaper, and asked if there was any illegal content in the would-be issue. I assured them there was none.

In the morning, as I was preparing to drive to Volgodonsk to collect the print run, I had another phone call from the printing house – this time from its director. He said they’d called him in person from the FSB and asked questions about our newspaper’s content. The director was surprised to see them showing such close attention, and even more surprised to be asked to email them the fresh number’s make-up. He wondered why the security service was so anxious about my newspaper.

I said I thought it might be because of my being a member of the public movement For Human Rights, which was recently designated by the Justice Ministry as a “foreign agent”. I also recalled that the previous issue featured two very sharp-worded critical publications about two police chiefs, Lt.-Col. Konkayeyev and Col. Dedinov. Konkayeyev resigned shortly after the publication, and Dedinov is currently under investigation.

The printing house director turned out to be a good-humoured guy; he said he could see no “anti-state plotting” behind our publications. As for me, I’m still guessing why the FSB should watch my newspaper as closely as it does. Last spring’s incident with the arrest of a print run ended in my victory in court over Kalmykia’s Police Department, and the court decision entered into force a long time ago.

Finally, the printing order was fulfilled, and I personally drove to Volgodonsk to collect the fresh number’s print run.

Best regards,
Valery Badmayev, chief editor, Sovremennaya Kalmykiya newspaper, city of Elista

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