Press Releases: 11th Anniversary of the Murder of Anna Politkovskaya

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Press Statement

Heather Nauert

Department Spokesperson

Washington, DC

October 6, 2017


Eleven years ago renowned journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot and killed in her Moscow apartment building. We continue to urge Russian authorities to identify and prosecute the person or persons who ordered, planned, and funded this terrible crime.

Ms. Politkovskaya’s reporting brought to light the violation of human rights in Russia and the suffering of victims of the war in the North Caucasus region. Recent reports of abuses against LGBTI persons and extrajudicial killings in Chechnya leave us deeply concerned that human rights violations are still regularly committed with impunity in this region.

The unsolved murders of Ms. Politkovskaya – a dual U.S.-Russian citizen – and other journalists in Russia, as well as threats against journalists exposing more recent abuses in Chechnya, have only worsened an atmosphere of intimidation for the independent press.