A Russian court convicted journalist, Mikhail Beketov, of slander but relieved him of punishment because of an expired statute of limitations. Beketov, editor of the Khimkinskaya Pravda weekly, is confined to a wheelchair as a result of a brutal attack against him in November 2008. Following the attack, Beketov sustained brain damage, lost a leg and fingers, and also lost his ability to speak. Beketov was on trial for slander after accusing Khimki's mayor, Vladimir Strelchenko, of being involved in blowing up Beketov’s car. The journalist made the allegations against Strelchenko, a former Afgan war veteran, in September 2007 during a television interview. Beketov had been following controversial plans to build a highway through the Khimki forest. Whether or not by coincidence, numerous other journalists and political activists who have criticized Khimki authorities have also ended up brutally beaten. The most recent victims are ecologist Konstantin Fetisov (beaten on November 4th) and journalist Oleg Kashin (beaten on November 6th), both of whom are still in a coma.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/101110/world/russia_crime_media_rights_beketov
http://newsru.com/russia/09nov2010/himki.html (list of victims)
http://www.svobodanews.ru/content/feature/2215594.html (video)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment