On 16 September, five Belarusian media workers (Dzmitry Navazhylau, BelaPAN’s Director General, Liudmila Chekina, TUT.BY’s Director General, and journalists Andrei Aliaksandrau, Kiryl Pazniak and Yanina Pazniak) were released from prison and taken to Vilnius in the new iteration of Lukashenko’s ‘prisoners-for-business’ programme. Freeing hostages in exchange for lifting the US sanctions against Belarusian state-owned corporations, this time – Lakokraska and Bellesbumprom, is now an established practice with malign impact extending far beyond individual families.
JFJ welcomes the release of five Belarusian media workers. But their freedom must not obscure the wider crisis in the post-Soviet region: at least 15 media workers remain behind bars in Belarus; 81 in Russia, including Russian and Ukrainian journalists; 42 in Azerbaijan; four in Kazakhstan and one in Georgia.
WAR IN UKRAINE
On 26 September, journalist Mariia Yivzhenko, has been killed in a Russian strike on the Compass FM business center in Kyiv’s Solomyanskyi District. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at least 157 media workers have been killed, including 21 journalists who lost their lives while carrying out their professional duties.
TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION
- On 20 September, Mariana Katzarova, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, presented her report on transnational repression by the Russian Federation during 63rd session of the Human Rights Council. This is the first ever country-specific report on transnational repression at the United Nations. The report draws on 400 documented cases of Russian transnational repression.
- On 23 September, the United Nations published a statement expressing deep concern regarding transnational repression and its serious implications for human rights, democracy, State sovereignty, security, safety, civic space and the rule of law. The statement provides the definition of transnational repression, highlights the responsible actors, affected individuals, groups and communities, provides examples of methods and tactics, as well as recommendations to stakeholders.
- IPHR published a protection toolkit for human rights defenders in exile. Shaped by people who have experienced transnational repression firsthand, the toolkit offers practical steps to strengthen awareness, early detection, collective protection, and response mechanisms.
Evan Gershkovich, the foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, who was arrested in Russia in March 2023, has published his memoir, This Cursed Beautiful Land: A Russian-American Story. Gershkovich was detained on charges of “Espionage” (Art. 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and sentenced by a Russian court to 16 years in a maximum-security penal colony. He was released on August 1, 2024, as part of the most complex prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War.
In this memoir, Gershkovich takes readers inside the events leading up to his arrest, his nearly 500 days in Russian prisons, and the extraordinary, multi-country prisoner exchange that secured his release. More than a prison memoir, the book is also a deeply reported account of Russia, exploring its people, history, culture and the complex relationship between Russia and the United States.
EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEDIA WORKERS
- JX Fund and ASL19 are launching a series of practical online webinars to help independent exiled media organisations strengthen their digital resilience and respond to technical threats. The registration deadline is 30 September.
- The Support and Assistance for Free Expression (SAFE) project offers training grants to independent media from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. These grants fund training programmes that enhance journalistic reporting and resilience, helping independent media outlets continue their work safely and sustainably under high-risk conditions. The application deadline is 30 September.
- The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation invites Ukrainian journalists, photo reporters, and war correspondents based in Ukraine to apply for the next edition of its scholarship program. The application deadline is 22 October.
- On 13 October, the Pushkin House in London, UK, will host a conversation with Dmitry Muratov, aNobel Peace Prize-winning Russian journalist and former editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta and film director Patrick Forbes.The conversation will be conducted in Russian and English, with simultaneous interpretation, and will be followed by Q&A.