Prosecutors open probe into 2003 death of Moscow reporter
New York, October 30, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a decision by an arm of the Russian prosecutor general to open a criminal probe into the mysterious July 2003 death of Yuri Shchekochikhin, deputy editor of the Moscow newspaper Novaya Gazeta. “We welcome this important if overdue step on behalf of Russian prosecutors to…
A year after Politkovskaya slaying, signals are not encouraging
Your Excellency, One year after the assassination of Novaya Gazeta investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, the response by your nation’s law enforcement, judicial, and political institutions remains under intense international scrutiny. In Russia and across the world, leaders and citizens expect an investigation that is diligent, transparent, and free of political influence. Thus far, the signals have not been encouraging.
In Russia, skepticism greets prosecutors’ ruling in Safronov death
New York, September 12, 2007—Moscow prosecutors closed the criminal investigation into the March death of Kommersant defense correspondent Ivan Safronov because of “an absence of foul play,” the business daily reported today. The Central Administrative District prosecutor concluded that Safronov took his own life “for subjective, private reasons,” Kommersant said. The prosecutor’s office disclosed few…
Russian police seize computers from Novaya Gazeta bureau
New York, August 31, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that police in the Volga River city of Nizhny Novgorod raided the local bureau of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta on Thursday, seizing all of the office’s computers. “This raid on Novaya Gazeta is yet another installment in the unending saga of…
In a benchmark verdict, Russian court convicts 5 in reporter’s murder
New York, August 30, 2007—A court in Russia’s west-central republic of Tatarstan has convicted five members of a criminal gang in the 2000 murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Igor Domnikov, the newspaper reported today. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed this important development, but urged authorities to vigorously prosecute the masterminds of the crime.
In Russia, four formally charged in Politkovskaya murder as new suspect emerges
New York, August 29, 2007—Four of the 10 suspects detained in the 2006 murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya have been formally charged, a defense lawyer told the independent radio station Ekho Moskvy. A warrant has been issued for the detention of an 11th suspect in the case, a spokeswoman for the Moscow City Court told…
In Russia, suspects arrested in Politkovskaya murder
New York, August 27, 2007—Ten suspects have been arrested in the October 2006 assassination in Moscow of investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika told a news conference today. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the development but urged Russian authorities to publicly disclose details of the probe, including evidence of the suspects’…
Opposition activist released from forced psychiatric hospitalization
New York, August 20, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s release of opposition activist Larisa Arap, who was forcibly held in a Russian psychiatric hospital. Arap’s detention on July 5 came soon after the publication of her interview on the treatment of patients at the Murmansk regional psychiatric hospital in northern city of Apatity—the…