Crimes against journalists must not go unpunished, says OSCE media freedom representative on fifth anniversary of Politkovskaya murder

STRASBOURG, France, 5 October 2011 – Commemorating the fifth anniversary of the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, today presented her latest assessment of threats and responses to attacks against journalists in the OSCE region.

“The right of journalists to carry out their work in safety, without fear of being harassed, attacked, beaten or killed is fundamental to the protection of all other human rights,” said Mijatović at an event organized by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, on protection of journalists from violence. “As long as journalists are afraid for their lives and the lives of their families while doing their job, we do not live in a free society.”

She highlighted the fact that in the last five years only three out of almost 30 murders of journalists in the OSCE region have been sucessfully prosecuted. "This casts serious doubts on the effectiveness of law-enforcement bodies and the judiciary in dealing with such crimes."

“Governments and political leaders can help by publicly defending journalists’ rights and resisting any attempts to silence journalists. They can also demand that there is no impunity for the perpetrators and instigators of these murders,” said Mijatović. 

The Representative’s report can be accessed in English at www.osce.org/fom/83569 and in Russian www.osce.org/ru/fom/83571.