Vidize Blog

The black statistics from Russia continue:
The AP quotes Oleg Orlov, head of the Memorial rights group where Natalya Estermirova worked, as saying that witnesses saw four men force her into a car in the Chechen capital of Grozny on Wednesday. She was later found lying on a road with two bullet wounds in her head, [...]

Russia remains in the spotlight as one of the most dangerous places for journalists.
Anastasiya Baburova (only 25) was shot on January 19 – minutes after a press conference at the Independent Press Center. She was walking towards the Metro station with a laywer, Stanislav Markelov.
Baburova apparently tried to stop the killer, who [...]

“The killer of dissident reporter Anna Politkovskaya is known to Russian authorities but has not yet been charged…”. That’s the statement of the chief investigator on the case that appeared in an interview on Monday. Here’s a bit more from Reuters:
“We have so far not charged the killer but we know who he is,” [...]

Russia and free speech have been one of the topics of this blog ever since Anna Politkovskaya was murdered in Moscow.
It looks like Russain prosectors have charged ten people with her murder.
Russian prosecutors have arrested 10 people in connection with the murder of investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya and will soon charge them, the country’s chief [...]

You might be surprised to hear what happens to gay rights activists in Moscow. I’m not … I’ve been there (Moscow), seen that.
Thirty-one people were arrested during the peaceful demonstration by the police. At the same time, the police stood aside while right-wing and Orthodox activists took the chance the exercise their “right” to violent [...]

It’s World Press Freedom day today. BBC are taking every chace they have to remind us that Alan Johnston is still missing in Gaza.
He’s not alone. The Committee to Protect Journalists annual worldwide census found 134 journalists imprisoned on December 1, an increase of nine from the 2005 tally.
As you can see the main offenders [...]

An ex-Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, died by radioactive poisoning on Thursday. The news is still being commented and there’s no conclusive evidence about Russia’s involvement.
There’s an obvious beneficiary from this death – Russia’s current regime and/or the KGB (now FSB). The Russian parliament voted in June to allow state officials to carry out overseas [...]

Anna Politkovskaya, an award-winning Russian journalist, was gunned down in the elevator going to her Moscow flat. Her criticism of Putin’s war on Chechnya made her few friends at high places.
I came back from Moscow a week ago. Frankly, I didn’t see much change since the totalitarian times. I was especially struck when I visited [...]