Russia Denies Visas To Reporters Without Borders Workers
October 06, 2009
MOSCOW -- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says it is "shocked" by Russia's decision to refuse visas to two of its representatives, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.
RSF says it was planning to send two officials to Moscow to take part in a press conference devoted to the third anniversary of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya's slaying.
Politkovskaya, who was Russia's most-active journalist in covering the fighting in Chechnya, was shot dead in the elevator of her Moscow apartment on October 7, 2006.
RSF said in a press release that the Russian decision to refuse visas to the organization's officials deprives RSF of being able to express its solidarity with Russian journalists and rights activists.
No one has been convicted in Politkovskaya's killing. Four suspects allegedly involved in her murder were acquitted earlier this year, although the Supreme Court ruled last month that the case against them must be further investigated by prosecutors.