OSCE media freedom representative protests against killing during police custody of web publisher in Russia's Ingushetia region
VIENNA, 2 September 2008 - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, today called outrageous the killing of Magomed Evloyev, the publisher of the independent news website Ingushetiya.ru, who was shot while he was in police custody.
"Evolyev's death is the culmination of an orchestrated campaign by the authorities of Ingushetia to silence the only critical voice in the region. Similarly to the 2006 murder of Anna Politkovskaya, this assassination represents a further deterioration of media freedom in Russia," Haraszti said.
Evloyev was detained Sunday by local Interior Ministry officials at Magas airport as he was returning to Ingushetia from Moscow. The President of Ingushetia, Murat Zyazikov, was reported to have been on the same airplane as Evloyev, and having a heated discussion with him during the flight. According to the police, Evloyev was "by accident" shot in the temple while being driven in a police car. Evloyev died in a hospital in Nazran, Ingushetia.
"Evloyev's website - the last remaining independent news source in the region - has repeatedly faced pressure from the authorities. Only two months ago, I protested against the legal harassment of Ingushetiya.ru and warned that official persecution of free journalism could result in violence," Haraszti added.
In June 2008, the Kuntsevo district court in Moscow ordered the closure of Ingushetiya.ru for alleged distribution of extremist materials. In August 2008, the chief editor of Ingushetiya.ru, Roza Malsagova, left Russia seeking political asylum.
"The Russian authorities must promptly and thoroughly investigate Evloyev's death and all those responsible must be punished," Haraszti said. "Russia should live up to its OSCE commitments and support, rather than repress, free debate, free reporting and media pluralism."