Anna Politkovskaya

On 25 June 2008, the Supreme Court of Russian Federation overturned the acquittal of the for men accused of involvement in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya. The decision to conduct a new trial highlights the difficulties faced by the Russian judicial system in investigating the murders and attacks on human rights defenders and journalists and the failure of the authorities to bring the intellectual and actual authors of such crimes to justice. 

A court ruled on 13 October 2006 to close down the Russian Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS) an organization that monitors human rights violations in Chechnya and provides assistance to victims of the conflict. The ruling in the week of the murder of journalist, Anna Politkovskaya signals a determined effort to silence those who speak out about human rights in Chechnya.

The decision is the latest in an array of judicial and legal harassments against RCFS and its staff. Russian authorities have charged RCFS of violating a range of laws including charges of tax evasion based on claims of grants received, in February 2006, Stanislav Dmitrievsky, the Director of RCFS and editor of its newspaper was convicted of inciting racial hatred under the Russian Federal Criminal Code. The charges are a result of articles featuring statements from leading Chechen separatists’ condemning the war. There is also a pending court decision to liquidate the organization.