Impunity for crimes against journalists in Russia is serious threat to media freedom, OSCE Representative says on anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya’s killing

VIENNA, 7 October 2017 – On the eleventh anniversary of the killing of Novaya gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya,OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, urged the Russian authorities to make more efforts to end impunity for crimes committed against journalists.

“Despite pledges at the top political level, the majority of killings of journalists in Russia remain unsolved, which is a very serious threat to media freedom. I do acknowledge the progress made in the case of Politkovskaya’s murder, but more still needs to be done,” Désir said. “It is unacceptable that the masterminds behind her and other journalists’ assassination remain at large. This vicious circle of impunity has a continuing effect on the situation of media freedom in Russia,” the Representative said.

Politkovskaya was shot and killed in Moscow on 7 October 2006. In 2003, she received the OSCE Prize for Journalism and Democracy for her courageous professional work in support of “human rights and freedom of the media”.

In June 2014, sentences were handed down to five individuals for the murder of Politkovskaya, a move which was welcomed by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (see www.osce.org/fom/119640). However, the investigation was unable to identify the masterminds of the crime.

Desir also called on the authorities to fully investigate all other deaths of journalists, including: Paul Klebnikov (2004), Natalya Estemirova (2009), Khadzhimurad Kamalov (2011) and Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev (2013) amongst others.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. He provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.