Watchdog

Investigators in Moscow have closed their investigation into the death of Yury Shchekochikhin, an independent journalist who died under mysterious circumstances in 2003, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

Shchekochikhin, 54, worked for the Moscow-based independent newspaper "Novaya gazeta." The official cause of his death was declared to be an allergic reaction, but his colleagues told RFE/RL that they doubt the official version.

Shchekochikhin was well known for his investigative articles and analyses. His most popular works were about the liberation of captured Russian soldiers in Chechnya.

"Novaya gazeta" initiated its own investigations into his death in 2008.

Two other journalists for "Novaya gazeta" have been shot to death in the last two and a half years: Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 and Anastasia Baburova in January of this year. Both, like Shchekochikhin, wrote about Chechnya.

Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky told RFE/RL that his party will fight to reverse the decision to close the case.

The Court of Appeals in Baku has annulled a verdict sentencing a journalist to one year in prison, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.

Baku's Yasamal District Court on April 7 found Asif Marzili, the editor of the independent newspaper “Tazadlar” (Contrasts), guilty of libel and sentenced him to one year of jail.

The case was initiated by the rector of the International University in Baku, who accused Marzili of libel over an interview he conducted with another journalist, Zumrud Mammadova, on alleged corruption at the university and the illegitimate sale of diplomas. Mammadova was sentenced to six months of community service.

The Court of Appeals decided to annul the sentences of both journalists. It made the ruling a day after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev harshly criticized the verdict against Marzili.

Aliyev said that he would like to see the courts find legal ways to solve disputes between parties involved in scandals instead of sending journalists to jail.

There are currently three journalists imprisoned in Iran for what their supporters say were their professional activities, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.