Russia
Threats against journalists continuePosted Feb 15 2009
After the murder of a young Novaya Gazeta reporter last month, other Russian journalists continue to be attacked and receive death threats.
The editor-in-chief of a small newspaper based about 40 miles northwest of Moscow was brutally beaten near his home in Solnechnogorsk on Feb. 3. Yuri Grachev, 72, is publisher, editor and likely the only reporter for his liberal newspaper, Solnechnogorskiy Forum. He arrived at the hospital unconscious with a severe concussion, broken nose and cuts on his face. He is expected to survive the attack.
The next issue of the paper was to come out Feb. 10 and would have included coverage of the town’s upcoming election. The Solnechnogorskiy Forum is the town’s only opposition newspaper.
Russian interior ministry spokesman Valery Gribakin said in an interview posted on the ministry’s official Web site that attacks on journalists are likely just coincidence and not a direct response to their work.
“When murder victims turn out to work for the media, their colleagues rush to the conclusion that their work is the main reason for their death. But, more often, they are sex cases,” he said.
On Feb. 5, prominent Russian journalist Alexei Venediktov came home to find an axe lodged in the wall next to the door of his Moscow apartment. Upon further investigation, he discovered a video camera placed above the elevator pointed towards the entrance of his apartment. Venediktov is the editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow, an independent radio station.
In both incidents, the assailants are still unknown.
More information
- Reporters Without Borders
- International News Safety Institute