Journalist silenced

Russia maintains a tight grip on journalists reporting on the ongoing troubles in Chechnya. This clampdown began in earnest during the Second Chechen War after extensive coverage of the previous conflict had exposed Russia’s heavy-handedness to the world. Anna Politkovskaya was an investigative journalist dedicated to exposing human rights abuses on the part of both Russian and Chechen troops, and her extensive writing, which includes the books Dirty War: a Russian Reporter in Chechnya and Putin’s Russia, made her numerous enemies. Politkovskaya was shot and killed in the lift of her Moscow apartment block in October 2006, having previously received death threats and survived attempts on her life. Three men who stood trial for their involvement in the murder were acquitted in February 2009, while the murder suspect is on the run and is thought to have fled the country.