10 March 2004

JOURNALIST'S DEATH, RADIO STATION RAID PART OF A PATTERN?


The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) questioned whether the death on 3 March 2004 of Yuriy Chechyk, director of Radio Yuta in Poltava, is part of a pattern.

Chechyk was killed in a car accident en route to meet with executives of Radio Svoboda, Radio Liberty's Ukrainian Service, about rebroadcasting the station's programmes on the more accessible FM band. Radio Liberty's FM service was dropped by Radio Dovira last month amid suspicions of political pressure, and Radio Kontynent, which had taken over the broadcasting, was suddenly shut down on 4 March.

A string of unsolved deaths involving road accidents or bizarre circumstances worries the IFJ, including the cases of investigative journalist Georgy Gongadze, brutally murdered three years ago after exposing government corruption; Vladimir Efremov, editor of the independent newspaper "Sobor," killed in a car accident just before he was due to testify at the trial of a former Prime Minister accused of embezzlement; journalist Volodimir Karachenzev, who had exposed corruption, found hanged on the handle of a refrigerator in December 2003; and Mikhailo Koromiets, founder of the news agency Ukrainsky Novyny and a critic of the government, found hanged in Belarus in October 2002.

Along with IFJ, Reporters without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) condemned the police raid on Radio Kontynent, an affiliate of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as a worrying sign for press freedom. The police confiscated the FM station's transmission equipment, sealed the office, and detained three people.

For further information, visit:
-IFJ: http://www.ifj.org
-RSF: http://www.rsf.org


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Also from the Communiqué, 10 March 2004

VENEZUELA: JOURNALISTS ATTACKED AS CIVIL UNREST WORSENS 9 March 2004 HAITI: SPANISH JOURNALIST KILLED, AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER WOUNDED 9 March 2004 BANGLADESH: CPJ DELEGATION URGES GOVERNMENT TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST MEDIA 9 March 2004 THAILAND: INDEPENDENT MEDIA UNDER INCREASED POLITICAL PRESSURE 9 March 2004 GEORGIA: HARSH TREATMENT OF JOURNALISTS, HARSH LAWS 10 March 2004 TUNISIA: IFJ SUSPENDS TUNISIAN JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATION AFTER PRESS FREEDOM AWARD TO PRESIDENT BEN ALI 10 March 2004 YEMEN: JOURNALIST'S ARREST PROTESTED 10 March 2004 INTERNATIONAL: SAUDI ARABIA: PROTEST GOVERNMENT BAN ON JOURNALIST 10 March 2004 INTERNATIONAL: MISA TO HOLD AGM IN MASERU 10 March 2004 INTERNATIONAL: CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON STATE CONTROL OVER ARAB MEDIA 10 March 2004 INTERNATIONAL: Journalism Organisations from 11 Countries Create Network 10 March 2004 MALAYSIA: MALAYSIA: ASIAN CYBERACTIVISTS NOTE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES 10 March 2004 INTERNATIONAL: REEBOK HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD PROGRAMME SEEKS NOMINATIONS 10 March 2004

Ukraine

Editor reported missing in Lvov region 29 March 2012 Court decision threatens future of country's largest newspaper 10 February 2012 Former president must be prosecuted in Gongadze murder, says CPJ 15 December 2011 Newspaper photographer murdered in Kiev 1 December 2011 Opposition TV channel disappears from the airwaves 26 October 2011 See all alerts: Ukraine


Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia

AZERBAIJAN: Eurovision no party for peaceful protesters 25 May 2012 UZBEKISTAN: Rights defender threatened, attacked 25 May 2012 AZERBAIJAN: Authorities violently disperse peaceful rallies 22 May 2012 AZERBAIJAN: Opposition activist released from prison 17 May 2012 RUSSIA: Putin's new mandate starts inauspiciously for media 11 May 2012


 
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