WiPC 2008 Resolution: Russia

The Assembly of Delegates of International PEN, meeting at its 74th Congress in Bogota, Colombia, 17-22 September 2008

Expresses deep concern that many of the cases of journalists murdered in Russia in recent years have not been brought to prosecution;

Further concerned that most of these cases have been closed as the alleged perpetrators of the crimes have not been identified;

Draws attention to the examples of such violations:

• Dmitry Kholodov (Moscow, 1994)
• Larisa Judina (Elista, 1998) - where the persons who carried out her killing have been punished but those who organized and ordered the murder have not been prosecuted;
• Vladimir Kirsanov (Kurgan, 2001);
• Valeriy Ivanov and Alexey Sidorov - editors-in-chief of the same news-paper (Tolyatty 2002 and 2003);
• Ivan Safronov (Moscow, 2007) - whose case was deemed to be suicide and proceedings closed although no confirmation of this were found during the investigation;

States that this year there has been some progress in the investigation of the murders of journalists for Novaya Gazeta, Igor Domnikov (2000) and Jury Szekhochikhin (2003);

However concerned by reports that investigators working on this case are more concerned with appeasing public opinion rather than identifying those who ordered and carried out these two murders;

Is perplexed that the Moscow City Court and the Procurator General allowed leaks of sensitive information into the investigation of the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya (Moscow, 2006) that led to delays that enabled one of the accused to escape Russia;

Struck by the fact that the murders of journalists are ten times less likely to lead to prosecution than those carried out against people of other professions;

Demands that all murders of journalists that have been closed without conclusion must be withdrawn from the archives and every effort made for investigations to be continued until justice is done.