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Category: Retaliatory

  • Russia expels Austrian journalist Maria Knips-Witting in retaliatory response

    Berlin, June 14, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces the expulsion of Austrian journalist Maria Knips-Witting from Russia and calls on the country’s authorities to immediately reinstate the journalist’s credentials and cease turning journalists into political pawns.

    Russian authorities revoked the accreditation of Knips-Witting, a journalist with the Moscow bureau of public broadcaster Austrian Radio and Television (ORF), on Monday, June 10. In a Monday statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Knips-Witting, who had been reporting from Moscow since January, was ordered to surrender her accreditation and leave Russia immediately.

    Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Knips-Witting’s expulsion was a response to Austrian authorities’ expulsion of Ivan Popov, a Vienna-based correspondent of the Russian state news agency TASS.

    “The Kremlin’s openly tit-for-tat policy concerning Austrian journalist Maria Knips-Witting shows what little regard Russia holds for journalists,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Journalists should not be used as a tool to retaliate against another country when there are appropriate diplomatic avenues available. Russia should reinstate the credentials of Knips-Witting and allow her and other foreign journalists to report from Russia without fear of reprisal.”

    The Austrian Foreign Ministry told CPJ that Knips-Witting’s expulsion “has no basis” and was “completely unjustified.” “This is yet another blatant attack on the freedom of the press in Russia,” the Austrian Foreign Ministry said in an emailed statement.

    “ORF regrets the decision and cannot understand it,” the Austrian broadcaster said in a Tuesday statement, adding that it will take “all necessary steps to ensure that ORF audiences continue to receive independent and comprehensive reporting from Russia.”

    News reports said that in April, Austrian authorities expelled two Russian TASS correspondents due to security reasons. The Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement said that Austria revoked Popov’s accreditation in late April, forcing him to leave the country on June 7. CPJ was unable to confirm further details about the second correspondent.

    “These are not some draconian methods,” Zakharova said on the Russian state-funded Sputnik radio, adding later in a social post: “If you touch our journalists, other foreign correspondents will be sent home too.”

    In March, independent Austrian weekly Falter reported that Russian intelligence was surveilling politicians in Vienna under the guise of working as journalists for TASS. The report also mentioned an unnamed foreign correspondent, based in Vienna since 2023, as being closely affiliated with the Russian foreign intelligence service (SVR).

    Zakharova said on Sputnik radio that about two weeks before the expulsion of Popov, the Austrian ambassador was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry to discuss Vienna’s move regarding Russian journalists, adding that there was no substantive response.

    “He (Austrian diplomat Werner Almhofer) was asked to convey the following message to Vienna: leave Russian journalists alone, we do not want any exchanges, let the media representatives work normally. But Austria, naturally under pressure from the ‘big brother,’ decided otherwise,” Zakharova said on her Telegram channel.  

    In March, Russian authorities refused to renew the visa of Spanish journalist Xavier Colás, a Moscow-based correspondent of Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo, and gave him 24 hours to leave Russia after working in the country for 12 years. 

    Russia has a history of expelling foreign reporters, including The Guardian’s Luke Harding in 2011 and the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford and Tom Vennink of the Dutch daily de Volkskrant in 2021. Since the start of Ukraine’s full-scale invasion, Russian authorities have failed to renew the visas and accreditations of Finnish journalists Arja Paananen and Anna-Lena Laurén, and Dutch journalist Eva Hartog.

    CPJ emailed the Russian Foreign Ministry requesting additional comment on both the TASS correspondents’ and Knips-Witting’s expulsions but received no immediate response.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Indian journalists with The Caravan face retaliatory police investigation 

    June 10, 2024, New Delhi—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday called on Delhi Police to drop its retaliatory investigation into three journalists from The Caravan magazine and instead prosecute those who assaulted them during the 2020 Delhi riots.

    Shahid Tantray, Prabhjit Singh, and an unnamed female colleague, who were attacked almost four years ago, discovered this month that the police had also opened an investigation into them on suspicion of promoting communal enmity and outraging the modesty of a woman, The Caravan reported.

    On August 11, 2020, a mob attacked the journalists in northeast Delhi while they were reporting on the Delhi riots, the capital’s worst communal violence in decades, in which more than 50 people died, mostly Muslims. For about 90 minutes, the attackers slapped and kicked the journalists, used communal slurs, made death threats, and sexually harassed the woman, until they were rescued by the police, The Caravan said. The journalists filed complaints later that day, it said.

    But The Caravan has since found out that the police first lodged a First Information Report (FIR) — a document opening an investigation — against the journalists on August 14 based on a complaint by an unnamed woman. An hour later on August 14, the police then registered the three journalists’ FIR, based on their complaints filed three days earlier.

    “The police has informed us that our FIR is being considered a ‘counter FIR,’” The Caravan said, adding that it had not been given a certified copy of the FIR against its staff because of its “sensitive nature.”

    “The Delhi Police’s actions against The Caravan journalists, based on a secret document that has not even been shared with them, are deeply troubling. This is a clear attempt to retaliate against journalists who were themselves the victims of a violent mob. The opacity surrounding the entire process is unacceptable,” said Kunal Majumder, CPJ’s India representative. “The Delhi Police must ensure a genuine, unbiased investigation into the attack on these journalists, instead of targeting them for doing their work by reporting on terrible sectarian bloodshed. Transparency and justice are paramount to uphold press freedom and democratic values in India.”

    The journalists did not find out about the case against them until June 3 when the police sent a notice to Singh’s former residence asking him to help with an investigation into the three journalists, which he did, according to multiple news reports.

    “The allegations in the FIR are absolutely false and fabricated,” The Caravan said, adding that it had not been informed of any police action to follow up on its journalists’ complaint.

    Joy Tirkey, Deputy Commissioner of Police for Northeast Delhi, did not respond to CPJ’s email requesting comment.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • U.S. Launches Retaliatory Strikes On Iranian-Linked Sites In Syria, Iraq

    Listen to the Talking China In Eurasia podcast

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    Welcome back to the China In Eurasia Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter tracking China’s resurgent influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.

    I’m RFE/RL correspondent Reid Standish and here’s what I’m following right now.

    As Huthi rebels continue their assault on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the deepening crisis is posing a fresh test for China’s ambitions of becoming a power broker in the Middle East – and raising questions about whether Beijing can help bring the group to bay.

    Finding Perspective: U.S. officials have been asking China to urge Tehran to rein in Iran-backed Huthis, but according to the Financial Times, American officials say that they have seen no signs of help.

    Still, Washington keeps raising the issue. In weekend meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok, U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan again asked Beijing to use its “substantial leverage with Iran” to play a “constructive role” in stopping the attacks.

    Reuters, citing Iranian officials, reported on January 26 that Beijing urged Tehran at recent meetings to pressure the Huthis or risk jeopardizing business cooperation with China in the future.

    There are plenty of reasons to believe that China would want to bring the attacks to an end. The Huthis have disrupted global shipping, stoking fears of global inflation and even more instability in the Middle East.

    This also hurts China’s bottom line. The attacks are raising transport costs and jeopardizing the tens of billions of dollars that China has invested in nearby Egyptian ports.

    Why It Matters: The current crisis raises some complex questions for China’s ambitions in the Middle East.

    If China decides to pressure Iran, it’s unknown how much influence Tehran actually has over Yemen’s Huthis. Iran backs the group and supplies them with weapons, but it’s unclear if they can actually control and rein them in, as U.S. officials are calling for.

    But the bigger question might be whether this calculation looks the same from Beijing.

    China might be reluctant to get too involved and squander its political capital with Iran on trying to get the Huthis to stop their attacks, especially after the group has announced that it won’t attack Chinese ships transiting the Red Sea.

    Beijing is also unlikely to want to bring an end to something that’s hurting America’s interests arguably more than its own at the moment.

    U.S. officials say they’ll continue to talk with China about helping restore trade in the Red Sea, but Beijing might decide that it has more to gain by simply stepping back.

    Three More Stories From Eurasia

    1. ‘New Historical Heights’ For China And Uzbekistan

    Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev made a landmark three-day visit to Beijing, where he met with Xi, engaged with Chinese business leaders, and left with an officially upgraded relationship as the Central Asian leader increasingly looks to China for his economic future.

    The Details: As I reported here, Mirziyoev left Uzbekistan looking to usher in a new era and returned with upgraded diplomatic ties as an “all-weather” partner with China.

    The move to elevate to an “all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership” from a “comprehensive strategic partnership” doesn’t come with any formal benefits, but it’s a clear sign from Mirziyoev and Xi on where they want to take the relationship between their two countries.

    Before going to China for the January 23-25 trip, Mirziyoev signed a letter praising China’s progress in fighting poverty and saying he wanted to develop a “new long-term agenda” with Beijing that will last for “decades.”

    Beyond the diplomatic upgrade, China said it was ready to expand cooperation with Uzbekistan across the new energy vehicle industry chain, as well as in major projects such as photovoltaics, wind power, and hydropower.

    Xi and Mirzoyoev also spoke about the long-discussed China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, with the Chinese leader saying that work should begin as soon as possible, athough no specifics were offered and there are reportedly still key disputes over how the megaproject will be financed.

    2. The Taliban’s New Man In Beijing

    In a move that could lay the groundwork for more diplomatic engagement with China, Xi received diplomatic credentials from the Taliban’s new ambassador in Beijing on January 25.

    What You Need To Know: Mawlawi Asadullah Bilal Karimi was accepted as part of a ceremony that also received the credential letters of 42 new envoys. Karimi was named as the new ambassador to Beijing on November 24 but has now formally been received by Xi, which is another installment in the slow boil toward recognition that’s under way.

    No country formally recognizes the Taliban administration in Afghanistan, but China – along with other countries such as Pakistan, Russia, and Turkmenistan – have appointed their own envoys to Kabul and have maintained steady diplomatic engagement with the group since it returned to power in August 2021.

    Formal diplomatic recognition for the Taliban still looks to be far off, but this move highlights China’s strategy of de-facto recognition that could see other countries following its lead, paving the way for formal ties down the line.

    3. China’s Tightrope With Iran and Pakistan

    Air strikes and diplomatic sparring between Iran and Pakistan raised difficult questions for China and its influence in the region, as I reported here.

    Both Islamabad and Tehran have since moved to mend fences, with their foreign ministers holding talks on January 29. But the incident put the spotlight on what China would do if two of its closest partners entered into conflict against one another.

    What It Means: The tit-for-tat strikes hit militant groups operating in each other’s territory. After a tough exchange, both countries quickly cooled their rhetoric – culminating in the recent talks held in Islamabad.

    And while Beijing has lots to lose in the event of a wider conflict between two of its allies, it appeared to remain quiet, with only a formal offer to mediate if needed.

    Abdul Basit, an associate research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told me this approach reflects how China “shies away from situations like this,” in part to protect its reputation in case it intervenes and then fails.

    Michael Kugelman, the director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, added that, despite Beijing’s cautious approach, China has shown a willingness to mediate when opportunity strikes, pointing to the deal it helped broker between Iran and Saudi Arabia in March.

    “It looks like the Pakistanis and the Iranians had enough in their relationship to ease tensions themselves,” he told me. “So [Beijing] might be relieved now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t step up if needed.”

    Across The Supercontinent

    China’s Odd Moment: What do the fall of the Soviet Union and China’s slowing economy have in common? The answer is more than you might think.

    Listen to the latest episode of the Talking China In Eurasia podcast, where we explore how China’s complicated relationship with the Soviet Union is shaping the country today.

    Invite Sent. Now What? Ukraine has invited Xi to participate in a planned “peace summit” of world leaders in Switzerland, Reuters reported, in a gathering tied to the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

    Blocked, But Why? China has suspended issuing visas to Lithuanian citizens. Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis confirmed the news and told Lithuanian journalists that “we have been informed about this. No further information has been provided.”

    More Hydro Plans: Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Energy and the China National Electric Engineering Company signed a memorandum of cooperation on January 24 to build a cascade of power plants and a new thermal power plant.

    One Thing To Watch

    There’s no official word, but it’s looking like veteran diplomat Liu Jianchao is the leading contender to become China’s next foreign minister.

    Wang Yi was reassigned to his old post after Qin Gang was abruptly removed as foreign minister last summer, and Wang is currently holding roles as both foreign minister and the more senior position of director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission Office.

    Liu has limited experience engaging with the West but served stints at the Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog and currently heads a party agency traditionally tasked with building ties with other communist states.

    It also looks like he’s being groomed for the role. He recently completed a U.S. tour, where he met with top officials and business leaders, and has also made visits to the Middle East.

    That’s all from me for now. Don’t forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you might have.

    Until next time,

    Reid Standish

    If you enjoyed this briefing and don’t want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every other Wednesday.


    This content originally appeared on News – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora convicted of money laundering, sentenced to 6 years in prison

    Guatemala City, June 14, 2023–In response to the Wednesday, June 14, conviction of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora on money laundering charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation:

    “The shameful conviction and imprisonment of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora serve as a stark testament to the erosion of freedom of speech in the country and the desperate attempts of President Alejandro Giammattei’s government to criminalize journalism,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director, in New York. “Guatemalan officials must end the absurd charade of criminal proceedings against him. It is time for José Rubén Zamora to be released, for his only ‘crime’ has been the fearless exercise of his profession.”

    After more than a year on trial, Zamora, president of the elPeriódico newspaper, was convicted of money laundering and acquitted on blackmail and influence peddling charges. The court sentenced him to a six-year prison term and a fine of 300,000 quetzales (about US$38,000 dollars).

    The journalist’s son, José Carlos Zamora, told CPJ that they intend to appeal the conviction.

    Zamora has been in pretrial detention since July 29, 2022. Alongside him, eight elPeriódico journalists and columnists are also under investigation for obstructing justice due to their coverage of the legal proceedings. Zamora has also been recently charged with the crime of using false documents.

    In April, a judge issued arrest warrants for three lawyers defending Zamora, and in May, elPeriódico ceased online publication and closed operations after 26 years.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Polish authorities question reporter covering Belarus border area

    On September 27, 2021, police in Michałowo, a Polish town near the border with Belarus, questioned Agnieszka Kaszuba, a reporter for daily newspaper Fakt, for about an hour, according to news reports, her employer, and the journalist, who communicated with CPJ via email. 

    Kaszuba told CPJ that the officers stopped her car while she was following a border guard vehicle for her reporting, accused her of illegally driving too close to that vehicle, and fined her 100 złoty (US$25) for not having a security triangle and fire extinguisher as required by law, Kaszuba told CPJ. 

    “There was another car stopped by the police at the same time, but they let the other car leave after around 15 minutes, while they did not let me go for about an hour,” Kaszuba said. During the stop, officers also asked Kaszuba about how she reported a recent article critical of border guards’ handling of a group of refugees and migrants who crossed from Belarus, she said.

    On September 3, Polish authorities charged two journalists with violating state of emergency regulations concerning the Belarus border area, as CPJ documented at the time. Polish authorities passed a 30-day state of emergency decree on September 2, which bars journalists from reporting at the border area, according to news reports.

    Kaszuba told CPJ via email that she was not within the area affected by the state of emergency at the time of her detention.

    On September 28, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said he would request the extension of a state of emergency for a further 60 days due to a surge in migration that Warsaw blames on Belarus, Reuters reported.

    CPJ emailed the press department of the Polish Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the police and the border guard, but did not receive any reply.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Bangladesh authorities detain sister of exiled journalist Kanak Sarwar

    Washington, D.C., October 6, 2021 — Bangladesh authorities must immediately release Nusrat Shahrin Raka, cease targeting journalists’ family members, and commit to allowing the media to operate without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

    Very early yesterday morning, officers with the police Rapid Action Battalion raided Raka’s home in Uttara, a suburb of Dhaka, and took her and her three sons to the battalion’s headquarters in Dhaka, according to news reports and Kanak Sarwar, a journalist and Raka’s brother, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview.

    Sarwar, who lives in exile in the United States, told CPJ that he believed that the arrest was in retaliation for his journalism and that Raka, who is a homemaker, had not committed any crime.

    Police repeatedly questioned Raka about Sarwar, asking why he opposed the Bangladesh government and calling him “a freedom fighter,” Sarwar told CPJ, saying that he was able to briefly speak on the phone with his sister in detention. He said that authorities released Raka’s sons after about 30 hours, but she remains detained in a cell with no bed.

    The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka ordered Raka to be detained for five days, Sarwar said, adding that she suffers from asthma and has experienced difficulty breathing in custody as she is recovering from COVID-19. He also said that police broke several items inside the house during the raid, including closets and jewelry boxes.

    Sarwar told CPJ that he believes all authorities’ accusations against his sister are false.

    “Punishing exiled journalist Kanak Sarwar by arresting his sister, Nusrat Shahrin Raka, is a crude and barbaric form of retaliation that should shame the government of Bangladesh,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities must immediately release Raka, cease targeting critical journalists or their family members, and allow the media to operate without interference.”

    In a press release issued yesterday, which CPJ reviewed, the Rapid Action Battalion alleged that Raka was involved in “destroying peace and order in the country by spreading false, defamatory, and provocative information about the government and important personalities of the state on social media” and accused her of involvement with an unnamed group engaging in “conspiratorial propaganda activities” with Sarwar.

    The press release also claimed that authorities seized a mobile phone, passport, methamphetamine, and anti-state content from Raka’s home, and that she revealed during interrogation that she was an active member of an anti-state propaganda and conspiracy ring.

    The Rapid Action Battalion filed two complaints at the Uttara West police station under the Digital Security Act and Narcotics Control Act, which CPJ reviewed.

    The Digital Security Act complaint alleges that Raka violated three sections of the act: the publication of offensive, false, or threatening information; defamation; and the transmission or publication of content that deteriorates law and order. Each of those offenses can carry a prison sentence of three to seven years and a fine of 300,000 to 500,000 taka (US $3,497 to $5,827), according to that law.

    The other complaint alleges that Raka possessed narcotics; under the Narcotics Control Act, Raka could face up to three years in prison if charged and convicted, according to Sarwar, citing her lawyer.

    Sarwar told CPJ that a fake Facebook page had been created in recent weeks using Raka’s name, email address, and phone number, and that account published posts criticizing the government. Sarwar said that Raka filed a complaint to the Uttara West police station about that account on October 1, which CPJ reviewed.

    The police complaint under the Digital Security Act cited posts made on that Facebook page, and attributed them to Raka.

    Sarwar is the former senior correspondent for the privately owned broadcaster Ekushey TV; authorities held him from March 3 to November 16, 2015, on accusations of sedition after Ekushey TV broadcasted a speech by Tarique Rahman, the son of an opposition leader, according to CPJ research and Sarwar. He now operates the YouTube channel Kanak Sarwar News, which covers Bangladesh politics and has been critical of the ruling Awami League.

    On December 8, 2020, the Bangladesh High Court directed authorities to block Sarwar’s social media pages after he interviewed a politician in Bangladesh on YouTube, as CPJ documented at the time.

    CPJ emailed the Uttara West police station for comment, but did not receive any reply. CPJ called and messaged Ashique Billah, spokesperson of the Rapid Action Battalion, but did not receive any response.

    [Editors’ note: This article has been changed in its fourteenth paragraph to correct the 2015 accusations against Sarwar.]


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Moroccan journalist Soulaiman Raissouni sentenced to 5 years in prison

    New York, July 12, 2021 – In response to the July 9 sentencing of journalist Soulaiman Raissouni to five years in prison on sexual assault charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:

    “Moroccan authorities should release journalist Soulaiman Raissouni immediately and refrain from filing trumped-up sexual assault charges against members of the press,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. “Authorities must ensure that Raissouni receives the medical treatment he needs and that the country’s sexual assault laws will not be used as political tools to crush criticism.”

    On July 9, the Casablanca Court of Appeals convicted Raissouni, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Akhbar al-Youm, of sexual assault and sentenced him to prison and a fine of 100,000 dirhams ($11,205), according to news reports.

    Since 2018, Morocco has repeatedly used sex crime allegations to target journalists; as of December 1, 2020, there were three journalists imprisoned in the country for alleged sex crimes, according to CPJ’s latest prison census and research into those allegations. Raissouni has said that the charges against him are “fabricated” due to his work, according to those reports.

    Raissouni did not attend the trial due to his deteriorating health as a result of a hunger strike he has engaged in since April, according to those reports and a local press freedom advocate who is following the case and spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.

    Moroccan authorities arrested Raissouni on May 22, 2020, after Adam Muhammed, a Moroccan LGBT activist, filed a complaint alleging that Raissouni had sexually assaulted him in 2018, according to CPJ’s research.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.