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DemocracyAlerts

From time to time, the World Movement for Democracy issues alerts concerning participants and other colleagues who are, or may be, facing personal danger due to their work on behalf of democracy and for whom a vigorous response from around the world may be critical.

To see previous alerts go to www.wmd.org/democracyalerts/democracyAlerts.html.

(November 27, 2007)

Alert: Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Beaten in Ingushetia

On the night of November 24, Oleg Orlov of the Russian human rights organization Memorial and three journalists from the private Russian news channel Ren-TV were abducted in the hotel “Assa” by unidentified masked men, beaten, threatened at gunpoint, and left naked in an open field in the village of Nesterovskaya in Ingushetia, a republic within the Russian Federation.   Moreover, the abductors stole computers, equipment, personal items, and documents from the victims.   The police are currently investigating the incident as a burglary and as an unlawful attempt to stop the work of professional journalists.   However, Memorial believes that the investigation is inadequate, as police are not considering the fact that the victims were abducted, threatened with death, and intentionally harmed.  Memorial calls on the government to fully investigate the crime and to allow journalists to carry out their work unhindered.  Memorial also calls on the government to provide adequate protection for human rights activists.

For more information from Memorial (in Russian), go to: www.memo.ru/hr/hotpoints/caucas1/index.htm