Posted by
Dawnsblood on Sunday, October 08, 2006 2:29:31 PM
It makes you wonder if the
MRB is taking a page from the KGB's old book of
dirty tricks.
Washington and the European Union urged Russia to conduct an
immediate and thorough investigation "to bring to justice all those
responsible for this heinous murder." Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika
has taken charge of the probe.
In the days before her death, Politkovskaya had been working on a
story about torture in Chechnya, which had been due to run on Monday,
along with photographs, her newspaper Novaya Gazeta said. It said her
death had disrupted the publication.
It wouldn't suprise me. Russia, under Putin, has devolved more toward an
authoritarian government under the thin veneer of functioning democracy rather than a federal republic. The people have the check of elections, but with the
media falling under the
sway of the
government, that is becoming less of an impediment daily. I will leave you with a bit from
RSF:
Former USSR still lags behind
The situation remains worrying in Russia (148th), Ukraine (132nd) and
Belarus (151st). A truly independent press exists in Russia, but
Russia’s poor ranking is justified by the censorship of anything to do
with the war in Chechnya, several murders and the recent abduction of
the Agence France-Presse correspondent in Ingushetia. Russia continues
to be one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists.
Press freedom is virtually non-existent
in much of central Asia, especially Turkmenistan (158th) and Uzbekistan
(154th). No criticism of the authorities is tolerated.