Three years on, Natalya Estemirova’s murder unsolved
Three years ago this week, Natalya Estemirova, a contributor to the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and a local staffer for the Moscow-based rights group Memorial, was murdered in the North Caucasus, Russia’s volatile region, where she was famous for her work as a defender of human rights.
Former police colonel indicted in Politkovskaya murder
New York, July 16, 2012–Russian authorities have formally indicted retired police Lt. Col. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov on charges of complicity in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, Russia’s Investigative Committee said today. Politkovskaya, an investigative reporter with the Moscow-based independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and a fierce critic of the war in Chechnya, was slain in her apartment…
Journalists imprisoned, threatened in Belarus
New York, June 26, 2012–Belarusian authorities should immediately release a critical journalist who was tried, convicted and sentenced to prison in a single day on a vague charge of hooliganism, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In an unrelated incident, a Belarus correspondent for the independent Moscow-based newspaper Novaya Gazeta received a threatening package…
Investigative journalist brutally beaten in Russia
New York, April 5, 2012–Russian authorities must immediately investigate the attack on journalist Elena Milashina and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice. Milashina is a special correspondent for the Moscow-based independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta as well as a contributor to CPJ.
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…
CPJ Impact
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, August 2011 Detention of a new suspect in the Politkovskaya murder In a significant development in the investigation into the murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation–the agency tasked with solving Politkovskaya’s murder–announced on August 16 that it had detained retired…
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…
Celebrating Shchekochikhin, doubting investigators
It has been eight years since Yuri Shchekochikhin, deputy editor of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, died a painful death from a disease that in a matter of days stripped him of his skin, caused his organs to fail one after the other, and led his body to shut down.On Sunday, on the anniversary of…
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…
Trial of Irina Khalip begins in Belarus
New York, May 12, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for the Belarusian government to drop all charges against Irina Khalip, the Minsk-based correspondent for the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, who has been imprisoned since December.