 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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