Russia
Investigative editor killed in DagestanPosted Sep 23 2009
Three weeks after the kidnapping and murder of the Chechen human rights activist and journalist Natalya Estemirova, the Russian northern Caucasus is again the scene of a slain media representative. The Dagestan editor Abdulmalik Akhmedilov, 32, was shot dead Aug. 11.
Akhmedilov, known as Malik, was found in his car on the outskirts of Dagestan's capital, Makhachkala, the independent Caucasus news Web site Kavkazsky Uzel reported. The Dagestan Investigative Committee, the region's investigative office, has opened a probe into the murder, the agency reported on its Web site.
Akhmedilov was deputy editor of the Makhachkala-based daily Hakikat (The Truth) and a chief editor of the political monthly Sogratl. Both newspapers are published in Avar, the language of the largest ethnic group in the multiethnic southern republic of Dagestan.
In his columns in Hakikat, Akhmedilov sharply criticized federal forces and local law enforcement for suppressing religious and political dissent under the guise of an “anti-extremism” campaign, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The campaign is ostensibly designed to curb the spread of the conservative form of Islam known as Wahhabism, which has gained popularity in Dagestan and other North Caucasus republics, CPJ reported.
According to the Russian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Akhmedilov was known for his investigative reporting into the recent assassinations of Dagestan officials.
Last year was critical for the Dagestan media representatives when three journalists were killed – Magomedgadzy Abashilov, Ilyas Shurpaev and Telman Alishayev.
In September 2009, CPJ released an unprecedented report on Russia’s unsolved killings of journalists and impunity for their murderers. Since 2000, 17 Russian journalists have been killed in retaliation of their work, and in only one case have the killers been convicted.