World's press renews call for Russia to investigate journalist's murder
By Erina Lin, Monday 8 October 2007 at 22:35 :: Contact WAN and SFN :: #671 :: rss
The World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum have renewed the call to Russian President Vladimir Putin for a thorough and impartial investigation of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist killed a year ago.
"We are seriously concerned that those who order or carry out violence against journalists in Russia enjoy almost total impunity from prosecution. It is estimated that 21 journalists have been killed since you came to power in March 2000," the WAN and WEF stated in a letter to Putin on the one-year anniversary of Politkovskaya's death.
Politkovskaya, who investigated war crimes in Chechnya and was an open critic of Putin and the Kremlin, was shot execution-style in her apartment building's entrance Oct. 7, 2006.
According to the International Herald Tribune, the person who shot Politkovskaya has been identified, but has not been found and arrested. Meanwhile, the person who ordered the killing is not known.
"The organiser is free," said Dmitry Muratov, editor in chief of Novaya Gazeta. "This crime cannot be considered solved."
The full content of the WAN's letter to President Putin can be found here.
Other recent WAN/WEF press freedom protests can be found here.
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