Journalist from Dagestan complains to rights defenders about pressure from power agents

Zarema Khasanova, a Dagestani female journalist, addressed the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" with her statement giving facts of threats against her, telling also about increased interest of power agents in her work. The journalist has linked these facts with her reports revealing militiamen's human rights violations.

Ms Khasanova lives in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, and works as an editor for the "Dagestan" National Broadcasting Company. Besides, she is broadcasting live at one of radio stations and issues two author's journalistic programmes every week.

She tells in her programmes about cases of torture and kidnappings applied and committed by power agents; besides, she took part in preparing the protest action of Makhachkala residents against power agents' lawlessness.

According to her story, she repeatedly received SMS messages with threats of physical execution; her home was several times visited by militiamen, who refused to show their IDs, under various pretexts. The last such visit was on September 25, when she was away, runs her application, quoted by the "Memorial".

Zarema Khasanova is afraid of possible illegal actions of power agents, and asks HRC employees to help her to protect her rights.