The Human Rights House Baku, was deeply saddened by the news of assassination of the journalist and writer Anna Politkovskaya on the 7-th of October at the door of her house. Having the similar sad cases in the history of Azerbaijani press, the HRH Baku joined the efforts of the international community to call the Russian authorities to conduct a just and thorough investigation on the case. The statement of the HRH Baku was sent to the Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan. (09-OCT-06)

Written by Shahla Ismailova/HRH Baku on the basis of information Novaya Qazeta and the Statement of HRH Baku; photo from Novaya Qazeta.

Great journalist and writer
It is well known that Anna Politkovskaya was a passionate and dedicated journalist who wrote about the Chechen Republic like no one else did. Anna wrote about the murderous war and the truth in the Chechen Republic, her books and articles were always of interest of the innocent victims of years of armed violence.

Politkovskaya had an exceptionally high international profile for a Russian journalist. She was frequently quoted as an analyst by Western media, and she received more than 10 awards and prizes in her career from groups such as Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Support of HRH Baku
Having the similar sad cases in the history of Azerbaijani press and recognizing the freedom of speech as the fundamental human right, the Human Rights House Baku is deeply concerned with the situation on freedom of speech in the Russian Federation and condemns the murder. On the 11-th of October the HRH Baku released a statement, thought which it called the Russian government to conduct objective and thorough investigation of the case to find and punish the murders. HRH Baku considers that Anna’s case as a political murder, which made a big damage to the development of free press in the Russian Federation. “The Russian government should bring all the efforts together to ensure that the people, involved in this crime are brought to justice” said the statement.

The statement of HRH Baku was sent to the Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan as well as to the CAN (Chechnya Advocacy Network) which is initiating a campaign to collect the letters.