Annual reports were prepared by the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Freedom House for World Press Freedom Day which is celebrated annually on 3 May. (29-MAY-08)
Written by Maria Paramonova/HRH Moscow
Links: http://hro1.org/node/2040; http://www.cjes.ru/lenta/view_news.php?id=8292&year=2002&lang=rus
Photo: www.hro.org
Freedom House
In 2007, the Russian Federation occupied 170th place, taking 78 points on the Freedom House Scale (the greater the points, the worse the situation). It is three points more than in 2006 and, for example, is seven points higher than Afghanistan. Kazakhstan, Sudan and Yemen also took 78 points.
Director of the Freedom House research department, Chris Walker (photo), in particular, explained: “Russia´s loss of points in 2007 is a continuation of the tendencies that we have observed for several years. However, the fact that alternative opinions could not break into mass media during the pre-election campaign, certainly, added to the general picture of the deterioration of the climate for freedom of the Press”.
Committee to Protect Journalists
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists report, the Russian Federation took 9th place in the “Index of Impunity”, hitting the list of 13 countries where murders of journalists happen periodically, and the governments cannot or do not hold the murderers accountable.
Methodology
The Committee to Protect Journalists “Index of Impunity” counts the percentage of the number of unsolved murders of journalists to the population of the country. The Committee to Protect Journalists analysed the situation in every country for the period of 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2007. Only those countries with five or more unsloved murders are considered in the index. The murder is considered unsolved if nobody is held accountable for it.
The countries with the highest indicators of impunity are Iraq, Sierra Leone and Somalia where there are current military conflicts. But the majority of the 13 countries noted in the Committee to Protect Journalists “Index of Impunity”, are peaceful states with an established democracy, such as the Russian Federation which demonstrates the failure of democratically elected governments to protect journalists.
Committee to Protect Journalists´s Assessment of the Situation in the Russian Federation
In the Russian Federation one of the most dangerous themes for journalists is the activities of business, official corruption and human rights infringements. Since 1998 fourteen journalists have been killed with impunity. Among the dead include well-known journalist Anna Politkovskaya (photo) who was shot at the entrance of her house in 2006, and the American editor Paul Klebnikov who was shot on a Moscow street in 2004. The “Index of Impunity” rating: The number of unsolved murdered journalists to one million inhabitants: 0.098.
Publishing the “Index of Impunity” on the eve of 3 May 2008, World Press Freedom Day, the Committee to Protect Journalists draws public attention to the frightening impunity which murderers of journalists use in these thirteen countries.
“Every time a journalist is killed, and the murderer avoids punishment, it renders a horrifying influence both on the press, and on those who wish evil on journalists”, – said Joel Saimon (photo), executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. – “The Governments of the countries that are on the list, should more actively carry out their obligations to free press. Mere words will not rescue a journalist´s life. We demand action: active investigation of crimes and resolute prosecution of all those who are guilty of murdering journalists”.
