Colleagues of Akhmednabiyev, murdered "Caucasian Knot" journalist, urge to defend freedom of speech in spite of society's indifference

The problems, covered by the killed journalist of the "Caucasian Knot", Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev, remain relevant for Northern Caucasus and Russia as a whole. Young people do not aspire to journalism, since reporters' murders remains unpunished, the participants in the ceremony of granting the award named after Akhmednabiyev have stated.

The first place at the contest was awarded to Aida Gadjikhanova, a journalist from Dagestan, for her article on torture of detainees by law enforcers. The second and the third places were given to the materials on human rights violations in Southern Russia, analysis of the political situation in Ingushetia amid the border dispute with Chechnya, and problems of the Chechen Diaspora in Europe.

According to Ms Gadjikhanova, after talking with her with colleagues, she got convinced that citizens are very vulnerable to law enforcers. In the Dagestani society, the fear of law enforcement bodies is growing, while no increase of the protest activeness is noticeable, she has noted.

Gadjikhanova has described the story of Abutalib Shakhruev, a Makhachkala resident, sentenced to 11 years for aiding militants – the man has self-incriminated after severe torture. Then, law enforcers realized that they had "mixed up" him with another person, but decided not to let him go for nothing.

Yan Rachinsky, the board chairman of the "Memorial", has emphasized that the main idea of the Akhmednabiyev contest is to once again show the importance of protecting the freedom of speech.

The establishment of the Akhmednabiyev Award was a commitment not only to the memory of the deceased journalist, but also the commitment of all Russian journalists to journalists of Northern Caucasus, Nadezhda Azhgikhina, the director of PEN-Moscow, has stated.