CPJ calls Russia's authorities to report about inquiry into Paul Khlebnikov's murder

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls the authorities of Russia to disclose the results of the investigation into the murder of Paul Khlebnikov, editor of the Russian version of the Forbes, who was shot dead near his Moscow office six years ago.

The inquiry is under the Investigatory Committee at the State Office of Public Prosecutor (ICPO) of the Russian Federation. In September 2009, Senior Inspector Petros Garibyan told the CPJ that the ICPO was in cooperation with US inspectors; however, no details of the inquiry have been disclosed so far.

"We call Russian inspectors to report about the last year's progress in investigating the murder of our colleague Paul Khlebnikov," Nina Ognianova, coordinator of CPJ's programmes in Europe and Central Asia, said on July 11.

"Dmitri Medvedev's meeting with Barack Obama at the summit last July, where Khlebnikov's case was discussed, gave grounds to expect real progress in the inquiry. They are extremely needed to rebirth hopes for possible fair investigation in Russia, where 18 journalists were assassinated within the last decade, while no killers were ever punished," she said.

Let us note here that on July 2 members of Khlebnikov family told journalists about their intention to file a complaint against Russia to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg because of inability to reach justice.