OSCE media freedom representative marks 10th anniversary of Russian journalist’s death with call for end to impunity

VIENNA, 3 July 2013 - On the 10th anniversary of the death of prominent Russian investigative journalist Yury Shchekochikhin, Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, today called on OSCE participating States to ensure the safety of journalists and the right to freedom of expression.

“On the anniversary of the death of Yury Shchekochikhin, I would like to once again raise the issue of the security and safety of journalists, as the scale of attacks on and harassment of media professionals in the OSCE region keeps growing,” Mijatović said.

Shchekochikhin, an investigative journalist with Novaya Gazeta and a member of the State Duma, died on 3 July 2003. Despite the official investigation results, both Shchekochikhin’s relatives and colleagues believe that he was poisoned for his investigations, including those related to the cases of high-level law enforcement representatives in Russia.

"I closely follow the work of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and I acknowledge the progress made, especially in the case of Anna Politkovskaya, but much more remains to be done in order to put an end to impunity,” Mijatović said. “Despite pledges at the highest level, too many cases of killings of journalists remain unsolved, which has an enormous chilling effect on the media community.” 

The Russian Federation is one of the OSCE participating States with a significant number of journalists brutally attacked or killed in recent years. Among them are Mikhail Beketov (Khimkinskaya Pravda), Kazbek Gekkiyev (VGTRK), Paul Khlebnikov (Forbes, Russia), Anna Politkovskaya (Novaya Gazeta), Anastasia Baburova (Novaya Gazeta), Magomed Yevloyev (Ingushetiya), Ivan Safronov (Kommersant), Igor Domnikov (Novaya Gazeta), Vladislav Listyev (ORT), Dmitry Kholodov (Moskovsky Komsomolets) and many others.

“I call on the governments of all OSCE participating States to thoroughly investigate all cases involving violent treatment of media representatives for performing their professional duties. Such crimes must be publicly condemned and perpetrators brought to justice to prevent an environment of intimidation, fear and impunity,” Mijatović said.

“In their pursuit of truth these professionals play a crucial role in advancing democracy and human rights, often at great personal risk.”