Authorities must thoroughly investigate the murder of Telman Alishayev, a reporter and host for the Islamic television channel TV-Chirkei, and the severe attack in Kabardino-Balkariya against Miloslav Bitokov, editor-in-chief of the independent weekly
Gazeta Yuga.
Alishayev died today of gunshot wounds sustained in an attack in Dagestan's capital, Makhachkala. He is the second journalist to be shot and killed in the restive North Caucasus region in three days. Magomed Yevloyev, the owner of
the critical news Web site Ingushetiya, was killed in the custody of Ingush police on Sunday.
In a separate incident, Bitokov was hospitalized today with multiple injuries after three unidentified men beat him at the entrance to his apartment
building in Nalchik, capital of the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkariya.
Just three days after the death of our colleague Magomed Yevloyev, we mourn the loss of yet another Russian journalist. Our deepest condolences go to Telman
Alishayev's family, colleagues, and friends, said Nina Ognianova, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. The vicious string of violence against journalists in the North Caucasus region can only be countered by the resolve of Russian
authorities to solve these crimes. We call on police and prosecutors to aggressively investigate Telman Alishayev's murder and Miloslav Bitokov's beating, and to bring all of the perpetrators to justice.
The independent weekly Gazeta Yuga is
one of the few news outlets in Kabardino-Balkariya to openly criticize local authorities.
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