23:58, 8 July 2015

28 organizations demand to transfer Akhmednabiyev's case to federal level

Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev. Photo by Patimat Makhmudova for the ‘Caucasain Knot’.

Now, after two years of fruitless investigation, the murder case of Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, should be transferred to the federal level, human rights organizations insist. The demand was signed by 28 organizations, including the "Article 19", Human Rights House Foundation, Index on Censorship, PEN International and Reporters without Borders.

Akhmednabi Akhmednabiev was killed on July 9, 2013, in the outskirt of Makhachkala. He became the 17^th journalist killed in Dagestan in the last 20 years and the second employee of the "Caucasian Knot" killed during performance of his professional duties. On July 30, Russia’s investigators have suspended the preliminary investigation into the murder of journalist. In the end of September the decision to suspend the investigation was cancelled by the Kirov District Prosecutor's Office of Makhachkala.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that last November the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) received an appeal about the inquiry into Akhmednabiyev's murder from 31 human rights organizations from 17 countries. Activists demanded to hand Akhmednabiyev's murder case over to the Investigating Department for Particularly Important Cases of the ICRF.

The human rights organizations state in their today's appeal that there was no official response to the letter sent to the ICRF last November.

"The inactivity of the ICRF in relation to this case is contrary to the promise given by President Putin in October 2014 to draw attention to killings of journalists in Dagestan. By promoting impunity for this murder, the investigators' inactivity creates a terrible precedent for future investigations into attacks on journalists in Russia and poses a serious threat to the freedom of expression. We call on the ICRF to urgently pass Akhmednabiyev's case over to the federal level," emphasizes the statement posted today on the website of the human rights organization "Article-19".

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.