26.04.2008 - Source: BBC News

Chechnya: Article on shoot-outs, kidnappings, disappearances and journalists ("Russia's region of 'lawlessness'") [ID 24423]

Document(s): Open document

24.04.2008 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Canadian journalist harassed in Chechnya; press accreditation taken ("Canadian journalist harassed in Chechnya; press accreditation taken") [ID 23071]

Document(s): Open document

30.11.2006 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Temporary arrest of Austrian channel journalist and her team, and seizure of her footage ("Temporary arrest of an Austrian Channel journalist and her team : Reporters Without Borders strongly protests") [ID 17970]

Document(s): Open document

13.10.2006 - Source: Guardian

Critical last work of murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya published by Novaya Gazeta; report accuses pro-Moscow Chechen security forces of torture ("Murdered Russian reporter's critical last work published") [ID 17319]

"A Russian newspaper yesterday published the report that journalist Anna Politkovskaya was working on the day before she was assassinated - a report that accuses the pro-Moscow Chechen security forces of torture. Novaya Gazeta devoted a page to the graphic account of a suspected rebel fighter who claimed he was subjected to electric shocks and beaten with rubber batons. The events in the article, headlined We're Appointing You a Terrorist, were described in a letter to Politkovskaya by Beslan Gadayev, a suspected militant who is now in custody in Chechnya. (...)"

Document(s): Open document

07.10.2006 - Source: BBC News

Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was known for exposing human rights abuses by Russian troops in Chechnya, shot dead in Moscow ("Chechen war reporter found dead") [ID 17318]

"Ms Politkovskaya, who worked for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was known for exposing rights abuses by Russian troops in Chechnya. She also acted as a negotiator with the Chechen rebels who held a siege in a Moscow theatre in 2002. The head of Russia's journalism union described her as the conscience of the country's journalism."

Document(s): Open document

16.02.2006 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Bomb threat halted trial of 2 Chechens charged with killing Forbes-Russia editor Paul Klebnikov in 2004 ("Klebnikov trial postponed because of a bomb threat") [#44325],  [ID 16143]

Document(s): Open document

15.02.2006 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

New judge appointed in trial of the Chechens Kazbek Dukuzov and Musa Vakhayev, who are charged with killing Forbes-Russia Editor Paul Klebnikov; trial not opended to public ("New judge in Klebnikov trial rejects appeal for open hearing") [#44245],  [ID 16144]

Document(s): Open document

18.01.2006 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Trial of three Chechens accused of involvement in killing of U.S. journalist Paul Klebnikov delayed ("Lawyer Says Klebnikov Trial Delayed") [#42281],  [ID 16145]

Document(s): Open document

12.01.2006 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Beginning of trial against 3 defendants of Chechen and Tartar origin in case of murdered journalist Paul Khlebnikov raises critique about impartiality of investigators ("Trial of Khlebnikov's alleged killers begins in secrecy after questionable investigation") [#41773],  [ID 16146]

Document(s): Open document

24.11.2005 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Persecution of journalists has been feature of war since 1999; self-censorship has become pervasive ("In a Climate of Fear - “Political Process” and Parliamentary Elections in Chechnya") [#39683],  [ID 16147]

"Persecution of individual journalists and various media has been a feature of the war in Chechnya from its beginning in the fall of 1999. The conflict zone has in effect been closed to outside scrutiny, and a number of reports and research papers by human rights groups indicate that persecution of journalists has been a feature of the authorities’ attempt to control information from the conflict. All media representatives told of or alluded to incidents of threats and harassment toward themselves or their colleagues. For the main part the perpetrators were believed to be persons with links to the authorities. In spite of this troublesome tradition, the media representatives reported few recent cases of harassment. This can maybe be attributed to a slight improvement in the working conditions for journalists. It also suggests that the parliamentary elections are not as controversial or tightly controlled as previous events, and that there is an effort on behalf of the authorities to appear more open and transparent than what has been the case in previous elections. It can also be a consequence of the fact that most of the media representatives seemed to have a very clear idea of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable to report, and that self-censorship has become pervasive. However, the independent weekly “Chechenskoe Obchestvo,” which, apart from having a substantial local audience, is widely read and recognized by national and international media monitors, continues to face problems. Last year the paper received an official warning for its reporting on the assassination of former Chechen president Zelimkhan Yandarbieyev, and the editor was repeatedly called in for questioning by the police unit for fighting organized crime, RUBOP, and the FSB. In the summer of 2005 there was a fire in the local Chechen department of the Ministry of Justice, which damaged the registration papers of “Chechenskoe Obchestvo.” In conversations with the editor, representatives of the Ministry of Justice have allegedly threatened to close the newspaper this fall, since there are now no longer any original registration documents."

Document(s): Open document

16.03.2005 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

According to local press reports, Russian authorities in Chechnya and the city of Nizhny Novgorod are escalating their campaign of harassment and intimidation against Pravo-Zashchita (Rights Defense), a monthly newspaper covering human rights abuses in Chechnya ("Russia: Authorities intensify persecution of independent newspaper") [#30191],  [ID 16148]

Document(s): Open document

04.03.2005 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

The Federal Security Service FSB and prosecutors launched a series of politicized criminal investigations against journalists covering human rights abuses in the North Caucasus; they appear to be part of a broader campaign by the Kremlin to suppress independent reporting on the war ("Russia: CPJ seeks to halt intimidation in Chechnya") [#29767],  [ID 16149]

Document(s): Open document

13.10.2004 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Chechnya: regional correspondent for Associated Press (AP) and the US Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE), prevented from covering presidential elections after Russian secret services (FSB) seized his passport ("Correspondent working for foreign media faces charges and has passport confiscated") [#26460],  [ID 16150]

Document(s): Open document

15.09.2004 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Report focused on persecution of human rights defenders, journalists, activists and lawyers in Chechnya and Ingushetia ("The Silencing of Human Rights Defenders in Chechnya and Ingushetia") [#25611],  [ID 16151]

Document(s): Open document

06.08.2004 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Campaign of harassment against the independent weekly Chechenskoye Obshchestvo (Chechen Society), which is based in Ingushetia's capital, Nazran, continues ("Russia: Chechen editor reports ongoing harassment") [#24538],  [ID 16152]

Document(s): Open document

29.07.2004 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ): Government officials in the southern republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya harassing independent weekly Chechenskoye Obshchestvo (Chechen Society) based in Nazran ("Russia: CPJ calls on Putin to end harassment of Chechen newspaper") [#24357],  [ID 16153]

"“According to Chechenskoye Obshchestvo Editor Timur Aliev, officials from the Interior Ministry's Organized Crime Directorate called him into their office in Nazran yesterday morning, July 28, and questioned him about the newspaper's recent reporting on human rights abuses committed by Chechnya's pro-Moscow authorities, as well as by Russian soldiers and security forces operating in Chechnya. [...] This morning, the director of the state-run printer in Nazran, Poligrafkombinat, told Aliev that police also called him in, and that the company could no longer print Chechenskoye Obshchestvo. Murat Zurabov, a press officer for the Interior Ministry in Nazran, confirmed to CPJ in a telephone interview today that Aliev had been called in to "speak" with Interior Ministry officials. He denied any pressure on Aliev or Poligrafkombinat and said he knew of no efforts to close the paper.”"

Document(s): Open document