2 August 2006
REPORTER STRANGLED TO DEATH
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, at least 12 journalists have been murdered in contract-style killings, and none of the cases have been solved, say the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).
On 26 July 2006, Yevgeny Gerasimenko became the 13th casualty. He was found strangled in his apartment in the southern city of Saratov, reported CPJ, RSF and the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations (CJES).
Gerasimenko, 29, was found with a plastic bag over his head and multiple bruises on his body. Police found no signs of a violent entry in the apartment, but Gerasimenko?s computer was missing.
Gerasimenko had been working for "Saratovsky Rasklad", a weekly that covers business and does politically-related analyses and investigations. He had been investigating the corporate takeover of a local commercial enterprise. According to the weekly's editor-in-chief, Gerasimenko was supposed to file a story on the takeover on 18 July but missed the deadline - something noted as very unusual for Gerasimenko, CPJ reported.
Local authorities have arrested a suspect described as a homeless man but refused to reveal his identity. They said the case had been "solved." However, CPJ says important questions remain unanswered.
Gerasimenko's murder occurred in the same week that the United States Senate issued a resolution condemning the murders of Russian journalists and calling on the Russian government to aggressively pursue its investigation into the July 2004 murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov. Introduced by senators Hillary Clinton and Sam Brownback, Resolution 526 urges Russia to accept offers of assistance from the U.S. and other governments in its murder inquiry.
The resolution also urges Russian authorities to co-operate with a global consortium of journalists who have been conducting their own inquiry into Klebnikov's murder. In partnership with RSF, Project Klebnikov plans to present its findings at a conference in Moscow this fall.
Visit these links:
- CJES: http://www.cjes.ru/index-e.php
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/europe/russia31july06na.html
- Twelve Murders, No Justice: http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2005/russia_murders/russia_murders.html
- Text of U.S. Senate Resolution: http://tinyurl.com/z8928
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18412
- Project Klebnikov: http://www.projectklebnikov.org/
- The Russian Newspaper Murders: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/russia/index.html
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