Attacks on the Press in 2011: Impunity Still the Norm in Russia
Russian investigators have adopted a more serious tone when discussing unsolved journalist murders, but officials still lack the will to apprehend masterminds of the killings. The lack of convictions takes a serious toll on investigative journalism. By Nina Ognianova
Russian journalists detained while covering protests
New York, December 6, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns heavy-handed actions by Russian authorities who have detained at least six journalists covering the protests that followed Sunday’s parliamentary election. International observers have cited irregularities in the voting, officially won by United Russia, the party headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Suspects recycled in Politkovskaya case
Russia’s Investigative Committee has named the main suspects in the October 7, 2006, murder of Anna Politkovskaya. But the news did not cause a stir. Russian journalists reacted to it rather languidly; for instance, Novaya Gazeta, where Politkovskaya worked, did not make any notable comments. This is not because Politkovskaya’s murder–now five years old–has been…
Justice still pending in Politkovskaya murder case
New York, October 7, 2011–Five years after the brutal assassination of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to prosecute the masterminds of her killing and end impunity in the murder of journalists.
Retired police official charged in Politkovskaya murder
New York, September 2, 2011–Russia’s Investigative Committee brought charges today against retired police Lt. Col. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov in connection with the 2006 murder of renowned investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, and named convicted criminal Lom-Ali Gaitukayev as an organizer of the slaying.
In Russia, new suspect detained in Politkovskaya’s slaying
New York, August 24, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the detention of a new suspect in the murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya, left, who was shot in her apartment building in 2006. The suspect, retired Lt. Col. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, is said to have formed a criminal group tasked with killing her, and the journalist’s…
Estemirova investigation on wrong track, colleagues say
Two years ago, as she was leaving home on a hot Wednesday morning in Grozny, several attackers forced Natalya Estemirova, the prominent journalist and human rights defender, into a car. A young witness–who later fled for fear of reprisal–recalled that Estemirova cried out she was being kidnapped and that a white Lada sedan then sped…
Suspected gunman indicted in Anna Politkovskaya’s murder
New York, June 2, 2011–Rustam Makhmudov, the suspected gunman in the 2006 murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, was indicted in Moscow today, according to Russian press reports. The charges follow Makhmudov’s arrest in Chechnya on Tuesday. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed these developments and called on investigators to continue their efforts to solve the killing.
Irina Khalip handed a suspended two-year prison term
New York, May 16, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s conviction and sentencing of Irina Khalip, the Minsk-based correspondent for the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, and calls on Belarusian authorities to acquit her on appeal. Today, the Zavodskoi District Court in Minsk declared Khalip guilty of “organizing and preparing activities severely disruptive of public order,” and…