A Tajik cameraman was released on December 26 after being detained for a day following protests by local media organizations. 

Abdurahim Shukurov, who works for independent news website, Ozodagon, was beaten by policemen and arrested on December 25 while filming outside a courtroom, where a leading opposition figure was being sentenced to a lengthy prison term.

RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports that Shukurov had initially been placed under arrest for seven days.

Police also briefly detained several relatives and supporters of the jailed opposition figure and businessman Zayd Saidov.

They were later released after paying fines.

Saidov was sentenced to 26 years in prison on charges, including financial fraud, polygamy, and sexual relations with a minor.

He denies the charges and says they are politically motivated.

— RFE/RL’s Tajik Service

Uzbekistan’s most popular weekly newspaper, «Darakchi» (Messenger), is under investigation for tax evasion. 

The newspaper is owned by a close associate of presidential daughter Gulnara Karimova.

Some of the newspaper’s journalists told RFE/RL on December 11 that they were forced to take vacations and were advised to start looking for new jobs.

Business owners say they have been informed that their ads will stop being printed in the newspaper and that their money will not be returned as the newspaper’s bank accounts have been frozen.

The weekly’s owner, Uzbek media tycoon Firdavs Abduholiqov, has reportedly fled the country. His current whereabouts is unknown.

Karimova announced earlier on Twitter that many of her associates had been arrested and that her media holding company was being investigated for bribe-taking.

http://www.rferl.org/content/uzbekistan-newspaper-investigated-karimova/25197194.html

The media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned «outrageous and clearly illegal» attacks on the offices of three opposition mass media outlets in Kyiv. 

In its December 10 statement, RSF said that «the raids on the offices of the newspaper ‘Vechirni Visti,’ the online TV station INTV, and the news website Cenzor.net were serious violations of the freedom of information and Ukraine’s constitutional guarantees.»

RSF urged a complete investigation and said that if the Ukrainian Special Forces were responsible, «the competent authorities must explain their actions and be held accountable.»

Cenzore.net’s editor, Yuriy Butusov, told RFE/RL that late on December 9 unidentified armed and masked people raided the offices of the three media outlets and removed all servers and databases.

The three mass media outlets belong to representatives of the opposition Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party.

http://www.rferl.org/content/media-ukraine-raids-police-protests/25195750.html

KYIV — About 50 protesters are picketing the building of Kyiv’s Court of Appeals, where hearings are being held into the appeal of a journalist detained in connection with recent political protests. 

The protesters are chanting, «Freedom to political prisoners!»

Journalist Valeriy Harahuts is one of several people arrested for allegedly organizing antigovernment protests on Bankovaya Street near the presidential administration office in Kyiv on December 1.

One of the protesters, Oleksandr Solontay, told RFE/RL that protest actions to support the «prisoners of Bankovaya Street» will also be held in other Ukrainian towns and cities.

On December 1, security officers and protesters upset with the government over its failure to sign a key EU accord clashed in front of the presidential administration.

Several protesters were arrested.

http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-protest-prosecution/25195733.html

Photographers from all over the world can participate in this contest.

The Abu Dhabi Authority for Tourism and Culture is organizing the International Emirates Photography Competition. The competition is being held under the patronage of the International Federation of Photographic Art, the Photographic Society of America and the United Photographers International.

The competition aims to develop UAE photography by encouraging and attracting talented artists and supporting professional photographers. The competition also features specialized workshops, meetings and seminars, and solo and group exhibitions.

A grand prize of AED80,000 (US$21,780) will be awarded to a work that presents innovative creative ideas in the main theme “Decisive Moment.” Winners in other categories will receive cash prizes ranging from AED8,000 to 30,000 (US$2,170 to 8,160).

Winners are invited to the Awards Ceremony in Abu Dhabi and the distinct artworks exhibition.

The deadline is Dec. 9.

For more information, click here: http://emiratesphotocompetition.ae/

Print, broadcast and online journalists who want a deeper understanding of evolution can apply for this program in Durham, N.C.

The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) is accepting applications for its journalist-in-residence program for a period of two or three weeks to up to three months. Funded by the National Science Foundation, NESCent is jointly operated by Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University.

Fellows will have an opportunity to interact with world experts in a wide range of evolutionary topics including human evolution, evolutionary medicine, paleontology, biodiversity, conservation, astrobiology, and climate change. Journalists can participate in a variety of scientific meetings and seminars.

Journalists-in-residence will receive support for travel to and from NESCent, a housing allowance, a meal per diem and office space at NESCent.

The deadline is Jan. 15.

For more information, click here: http://www.nescent.org/science/Journalist-in-residence.php

Dushanbe,Tajikistan, 28 and 29 November 2013 – At a workshop 20 journalists from print and electronic media learned how to protect the communication with their sources from surveillance and interception. Читать далее NANSMIT fosters digital security for journalists →

Acourt in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don has sentenced a local journalist to 18 months in jail for insulting a local judge in his blog. 

Sergei Reznik was found guilty on November 26 of «publicly insulting» the chairwoman of the Rostov Oblast Arbitration Court on his LiveJournal blog. The court also found Reznik guilty of paying a 2,000-ruble ($45) bribe to a mechanic to clear his car in a technical inspection.

Furthermore, the court declared Reznik’s claims that he received threatening phone calls a false complaint, and agreed with prosecutors that he had arranged the calls himself.

Reznik initially filed two police complaints of receiving threats of physical violence over the phone. But the local branch of the Investigative Committee instead began proceedings against him, accusing him of  «wishing to draw public and media attention to his personality» and «seeking to raise his professional rating.»

The investigators said he had asked two acquaintances to make the threatening calls, though the two people who testified to doing so were actually people Reznik had been in conflict with, he told the Glasnost Defense Fund.

Reznik, who is a correspondent with the «Yuzhny federalny» newspaper known for his critical reporting on city officials, pleaded not guilty and said the case against him was connected with his journalistic activities.

The court ordered Reznik taken into custody in the courtroom. There are still two other charges pending against him.

Threats Of Violence Realized

On the evening of October 22, Reznik survived an attack by two men who beat him with a baseball bat and shot him with a trauma pistol before disappearing.

«I turned around and saw a lean man catching up with us and raising a baseball bat over Sergei’s head,» Natalya Reznik told Glasnost. «My husband dodged and took the first blow on the side of his neck. After he fell down, the assailant started kicking away at him, not giving him a chance to rise. I cried out for help, and then I heard the sound of a gunshot.»

The police began criminal proceedings, though they wouldn’t comment on the likely motives. Reznik connected the assault with his professional work.

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Office Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic expressed deep concern on October 24. «Attacks like these are simply unacceptable. I trust that the authorities will conduct a thorough and swift investigation of this case and bring those responsible to justice,» Mijatovic said.

The International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) also condemned the attack. «The beating of journalists has sadly been a practice in many Russian regions for many years,» EFJ Vice President Nadezda Azhgikhina said. «It is one of the worst forms of censorship, and it often ends with impunity.»

— RFE/RL’s Russian Service

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-journalist-jailed-insults/25181128.html

Experienced investigative journalists can apply for yearlong fellowships.

The Lab at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University is offering fellowships in residence in Cambridge to produce monographs about targeted institutions.

Such institutions can be either public or private, and if private, then either for-profit or not-for-profit. They include public health institutions, the financial services industry, the elected state judiciary, media (public and private) and Congress.

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of five years of investigative reporting experience. The salary is commensurate with experience. Health benefits will be provided. International fellows will be assisted with visas.

Applicants must submit application materials online, two letters of reference, a CV, a comprehensive project budget, a proposal describing the institution planned to be covered, and any relevant experience with that institution.

The deadline is Jan. 1.

For more information, click here: http://www.ethics.harvard.edu/images/resources/pdfs/call4investigativejournalists.pdf

Authors of essays in Spanish or books in any language other than Spanish or Catalan can participate in this contest.

The Fundación Palau and Galaxia Gutenberg are hosting the Josep Palau i Fabre International Essay Prize.

Categories include untranslated text and original text.

The untranslated text category accepts books that have been published outside of Spain during the last three years and that are originally written in any language but Catalan or Spanish. Writers can participate only if the work has not been translated into these languages before.

The original text category accepts essays written in Catalan or Spanish, with a humanistic, creative approach rather than academic to any discipline (philosophical essay, sociological, historical, literary, political and aesthetic).

Winners in each category will receive EUR5,000 (about US$6,750).

The deadline is Nov. 30.

For more information, in Spanish, click here: http://www.galaxiagutenberg.com/media/84804/v_premi0_internacional_de_ensayo_josep_palau_i_fabre.pdf