The brutal murder of a Russian reporter Anna Politkovskaya, who worked for the Independent liberal weekly, Novaya Gazeta is still fresh in the mind of UK’s media practitioners as the National Union Journalist have protested against her killing. The 48-year-old prominent journalist who had filed intensive and rigorous reports on the Chechen conflict was shot dead in the lift of her apartment block in Moscow on October 7. The protestors outside the Russian embassy in West London led by Jeremy Dear, the union’s General Secretary, delivered a petition and made three important demand of the Russian government which includes: ‘a thorough independent investigation into Anna Politkovskaya’s death and those of other slain colleagues, and the prosecution of people alleged to be responsible; to open and unhindered access by all journalists, Russians and international, to report the Chechen conflict; and also an end to harassment and killing of innocent journalists in that country’.
The journalists union believes that since President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB chief, became president in 2000 the media have been almost completely taken over by ‘business interest under his control and that 13 journalists have been murdered in contract killing’. Dozens have been ‘beaten, threatened, harassed by officials, kidnapped, or charged with criminal defamation’.According to Aidan White, General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, Anna ‘was the bravest of the new breed of brave reporters who emerged in the dying days of the Soviet Union’. In a sombre tone he added: Anna politkovskaya faced down threats from all sides and was an inspiration to journalists both at home and abroad. Her death is a shocking outrage that will stunt the world of journalism and highlights the desperate and fragile state of democracy in modern Russia’.
It is reported that prior to her untimely death, she was working on an article on torture and kidnappings allegedly by pro-Moscow forces of Chechnya’s Kremlin back Prime Minister, Ramzan Kadyrov. She also reportedly faced threats from other officials and was once arrested and subjected to a ‘mock execution by security forces in Chechnya and came close to death on another occasion in an apparent poisoning attempt while flying to cover the deadly Beslan school siege in 2004’.
Genearl Secretary Dear said: ‘Anyone who threatens media freedom in such a brutal way, must be held accountable. The killers of Anna must be tracked and brought to justice’.
The UK journalists had earlier complained that they had written to Yuri Fedotov, the Russian ambassador and requested a meeting but since the diplomat refused such request and did not reply hence the demonstration.
Embassy staff has also ‘refused to let the delegation’ but the Police gave permission to the protester but tried to keep away certain journalists who were very close to the building.
So far the Embassy is yet to make any comment regarding such behaviour and the Freedom Newspaper could not verify the content of the letter addressed to the ambassador by the journalists.
Eventually journalists from all section of the media including Russian reporters laid a wreath in memory of the slain journalist on the embassy railings. The whole process was touching.
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