Putin and Kadyrov labelled as "enemies of press freedom"

The international organization "Reporters Without Borders" (RWB) has published a list of "enemies of the freedom of the press" as of the end of 2010. It includes heads of states and governments, kings, paramilitaries and mafia-like structures - in total, 38 positions.

The list of "enemies of the freedom of the press", published by the RWB on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day marked on May 3, includes 38 persons and organizations.

The RWB accuses them of using their power for censorship, abductions, torture and killings of journalists, the Deutsche Welle writes.

Thus, the list of "enemies of the freedom of the press" includes Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov. Putin, as stated by the website of the RWB, after leaving the Kremlin is still exerting influence on what happens there. As noted by the RWB, the keyword of his policy is "control": "control over the state, economy, political forces, country's geopolitical interests and the media."

According to RWB's analysts, the state-owned TV channels broadcast one and the same viewpoint, while independent journalists and human rights defenders are at risk, especially in Northern Caucasus. According to the RWB, in total, since 2000, when Putin came to power in Russia, 25 journalists were killed, five of them in 2009.

In the list of "enemies of the freedom of the press" Putin is followed by the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, who, as the RWB notes, is often treated as "Putin's watchdog". Lawlessness in his republic was a payment for the relative stability brought in by Kadyrov. The RWB links his name with the murders of the reporter of the "Novaya Gazeta" Anna Politkovskaya in 2006, and human rights defender Natalia Estemirova in 2009. Kadyrov himself categorically denies any involvement in these resonant cases.

As noted by human rights activists, Kadyrov makes no secret of his policy on the media. In his own words, the press should serve the unity of the Chechen nation. In practice, this principle, according to Reporters Without Borders, is interpreted as approval by the press of all his actions, the "Newsru.com" wrote with reference to the RWB's English-language website.

Meanwhile, as stated in the report of the International Press Institute, published on May 2 in Vienna, in total in 2010, 102 journalists were killed in the world, by eight persons less than in 2009.