Crisis: International

Russian journalist murdered
A RUSSIAN journalist was found dead in an elevator in her apartment building in Moscow on Oct. 7.

Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who covered the war in Chechnya, had been receiving threats since 1999 after she wrote articles claiming that the Russian armed forces had committed human rights abuses in Chechnya.

Despite these threats, she continued to write and in 2003 published A Dirty War: A Russian Reporter in Chechnya. She was also a co-contributor to A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya, published in 2003. Her most recent book, Putin’s War: Life in A Failing Democracy, is to be published in paperback in December this year.

Vitaly Yaroshevsky, deputy editor of the newspaper Novaya Gazeta for which Politkovskaya worked, is certain that her murder was linked to her work, a view shared by Russian human rights observers. The Moscow deputy prosecutor has also told the press that the possible link between her death and her journalism will be investigated.

In 2002, Politkovskaya was one of the few outsiders allowed into the Moscow theater in an attempt to negotiate with Chechen rebels for the release of hundreds of hostages.

Politkovskaya was the winner of numerous international awards, including the 2004 Olaf Palme Award that was set up by the family of the murdered Swedish prime minister. The prize was given to Politkovskaya to honor her work for the “long battle for human rights in Russia.”

Cameraman killed, photog wounded in police attack
CAMERAMAN Brad Will, of the US news agency Indymedia, was killed in a police attack on a demonstration by teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico on Oct. 27. Photographer Osvaldo Ramírez, of the daily newspaper Milenio, was shot in the leg but is in stable condition.

Will (whose real name is Wheyler), 36, was shot dead with a bullet in his chest while reporting on a protest in front of a town hall by the Oaxaca People’s Assembly, which gathered together 70,000 teachers and social workers. He sustained the wound when police and agents of the governor opened fire on a barricade built by the demonstrators, and died while being transported to hospital.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called for Oaxaca state governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz to be summoned before the new prosecutor’s office dealing with attacks on press freedom. The demonstrators called for his resignation.

In 2005, Ortiz ordered the daily Noticias de Oaxaca closed down for nearly six months. RSF also urged federal authorities to investigate him and the Oaxaca municipal police, which RSF said had become a militia used by local officials.

Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s poorer states, has been in turmoil for more than a year. The teachers’ protests began on May 22. Since June 14, they have been demanding the governor’s dismissal.— RSF/IFEX

Journalist tortured, released
PAKISTANI JOURNALIST Mehruddin Marri, who was reported as missing since June 27 in Sindh, Pakistan, has been released but not after enduring severe torture by the military.

Marri, who works for the Sindhi-language daily Kawish, was able to return home after being released by military intelligence officers on Oct. 24. In an interview for the BBC World Service’s Urdu-language service, he said he was arrested by police in Thatta and then handed over to the army. Thereafter, he was taken to an unidentified location and interrogated by military personnel about his ties with leaders of the Baluch nationalist movement.

“I was beaten and given electric shocks, and I fainted,” he said, adding, “Then they prevented me from sleeping for three nights. I had to stand up in the middle of a room and when I fell down, someone would come in and wake me.”

Before being released, a military officer told him: “Never oppose the state and the secret service.”

Munir Mengal, one of the founders of the Baluchi-language television station Baloch Voice, is still missing after being kidnapped on April 7. –RSF/IFEX

Colombia journalist murdered
Journalist Francisco Bonil-la Romero was shot in the face and killed after a tussle with two masked men in Cali, Colombia on Oct. 12. The authorities have still not determined the motive for the murder.

Jose Leon Riaño, Cali Metropolitan Police commander, told the Institute for Press and Society on Oct. 19 that the murder took place when the journalist tried to prevent a robbery at the home of his brother-in-law Mario de Ayala, the Spanish consul in Cali.

However, on Oct. 23, El Tiempo newspaper reported that upon the arrival of Bonilla and the diplomat at the latter’s home following a social engagement, the murderers appeared and one of them said, “It’s him,” referring to the journalist, and then shot him.

About 50 journalists, lawyers and publicists signed a commu-niqué on Oct. 20 urging the authorities to investigate the crime.

Bonilla was founder of Colombia’s Association of Foreign Correspondents and at the time of his death had also been working in advertising.–IPYS/IFEX

Iraqi journalist, wife shot dead
IRAQI JOURNALIST Saed Mahdi Shalash and his wife were shot by unidentified gunmen in their home in Al Ameriya, west of Baghdad, on Oct. 26, the Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate (IJS) said. He was the 154th media worker killed in Iraq since the start of the war in 2003.

Shalash worked for the Rayat Al Arab newspaper and had a 20-year career as a journalist working for the Iraqi News Agency. He left the agency in 2003, the IJS said.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) says that Iraqi journalists risk being killed by any number of groups as the security situation there continues to slide out of control. These threats make critical or investi-gative reporting impossible.

The IFJ has called on the Iraqi government and the US military to protect journalists and freedom of the press in Iraq.– IFJ/IFEX

Journalist forced to flee
OTONIEL SÁNCHEZ, a journalist working for local TV station CNC in Cartago, Colombia, was forced to flee the city after an attack on his home on Oct. 19.

According to the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), gunmen fired on Sánchez’s home in Cartago at 2 a.m. after he reported mismanagement at the municipal ice rink. Sánchez told FLIP he had repeatedly received threatening phone calls. “We are tired of your comments,” a caller said on one occasion.

The night before the attack, Sánchez received an anonymous phone call in which he was asked if he had received a package sent to his office. In fact, Sánchez’s colleagues returned the package to the delivery company fearing it might be a parcel bomb. It was finally opened by police bomb disposal experts who found three 9-mm bullets inside, the same caliber as those fired at his home.

There was also a message inside the package that said: “You journalists think the bullet won’t hit you but you are completely wrong. Or have you forgotten what happened to Polanco, of the same TV station?” CNC news director Oscar Polanco was murdered in Cartago on Feb. 4, 2004. Cartago-based radio journalist Candela Estéreo meanwhile received a parcel bomb on Oct. 3 which fortunately did not go off.

Sánchez is the seventh journalist forced  to flee the region where they work in Colombia since the start of the year. Exactly when he left Cartago and where he has gone is being kept secret.  – FLIP/IFEX

2 Vietnamese newspapers suspended
The Ministry of Culture and Information in Vietnam slapped a one-month ban on two small newspapers and considered disciplinary measures against other more widely read newspapers. This was because of the newspapers’ reports on corruption and on alleged printing problems with the country’s new non-paper bank notes, according to international news reports.

Cong Ly, a twice-weekly publication under the administration of the Supreme Court, and Thoi Dai  weekly, under the supervision of a government agency dealing with foreign organizations, were suspended for violating the press law and disobeying government orders, state media reported. Authorities were also considering measures against other publications, including popular newspapers Tuoi Tre and Thanh Nien.

Local media recently ran a series of articles highlighting misprints and other problems with the new plastic polymer banknotes, which replaced paper notes. Some published allegations that the son of a high banking official had profited from the printing contract.

The press in Vietnam operates under of the Ministry of Culture and Information which delivers regular instructions on print, broadcast, and Internet media reporting and oversees their administration. While independent publishing is illegal under restrictive press laws, the media in Vietnam have been increasingly bold in covering government corruption.

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