Leading Russian journalist 'poisoned'

[CHIMO]

Alarm bells are ringing in Russian media circles after the alleged poisoning of Anna Politkovskaya, one of the most outspoken critics of Vladimir Putin's policy on Chechnya, and the apparent sacking of the editor of Izvestia today.
Politkovskaya, who writes for the current affairs magazine Novaya Gazeta, was on her way to the siege in Beslan from Moscow when she collapsed mysteriously.

According to the Moscow Times today, "Politkovskaya was flying from Vnukovo Airport to Rostov-on-Don and fainted on the plane. Immediately after landing, she was taken to a local hospital, where doctors found she had been poisoned, Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitry Muratov told the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists."

Muratov said Politkovskaya had not eaten anything that day and that she felt sick after drinking tea on the plane. He did not speculate on who might have poisoned her. Politkovskaya is now recovering in a Moscow clinic.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1298488,00.html

[skooooo]

1. Long tradition of Russian history..

...poison. That's how Ivan the Terrible's wife was killed.

[daleo]

4. Rasputin too

It took a while, though. I think he was finished off with a bullet.

[MisterP]

14. poisoned, stabbed, clubbed, beaten, shot, clubbed, stabbed,

shot, shot again, thrown into freezing river (Neva?), drowned

[daleo]

15. Yeah, he was a tough one

You can't keep a good man down.

[MrPrax]

11. Some 'tin foil' types...

have suggested Lenin didn't die fast enough and Stalin poisoned him...

[frylock]

2. can you imagine something like that happening here?

I wonder what would happen if some American journalists were poisoned by, oh I don't know, some anthrax or something. I'm sure our competent law enforcement would have arrested the perp(s) within hours.

[canuckybee]

3. can I imagine something like that happening here?

you bet !!!!

[Chico Man]

5. My 1st thought

Out of the same playbook?

Is this takeover of the planet FOR REAL????

[soothsayer]

8. Danny Casolaro! BCCI

Killed him dead.

[hang a left]

6. It appears to me that there are some people that did not

want the truth to be known about who exactly was holding those children and adults hostage.

The mystery of the Russia hostage-takers

AFP< SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 05, 2004 07:32:47 PM >
MOSCOW: Names, nationalities and ethnic origins have been suggested, but the burning question about the militants who took 1,000 children, parents and teachers hostage in southern Russia remains unanswered: Who were they?

So far only tantalising details have been released over the possible identities and demands of over 30 heavily-armed militants who surged into the school on the morning where whole families were gathering for the first day of term.

Russian television has not flinched from showing the corpses of the hostage takers killed in a vicious shootout with security forces. A long black beard, a thick ring, a pale-skinned arm, but the dead do not reveal their secrets.

One of the few confident assertions came from the local security service chief, Valery Andreyev, who said ten Arab hostage-takers had been killed, igniting talk about the role of international terror networks in the events.



http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/839901.cms

[Snazzy]

7. Another leading journalist was jailed for "hooliganism"

The article is now behind a subscription:

2 Reporters Unable to Travel to Beslan

The Moscow Times Under suspicious circumstances, two prominent Moscow journalists known for their critical coverage of the military campaign in Chechnya failed to make it to North Ossetia to cover the hostage crisis in Beslan.

Radio Liberty reporter Andrei Babitsky was detained Thursday at Vnukovo Airport and prevented from flying to Mineralniye Vody while police, who said they suspected him of carrying explosives, searched his bags.

....

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/09/06/012.html

-----------

Tuesday, September 7, 2004. Page 1.

Kremlin Calls for Truth as Press Cries Out 'Lies'

By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer "Chronicle of Lies" screamed a front-page headline in Moskovsky Komsomolets on Monday. "Lies Provoked Terrorists' Aggression" was a headline picked by Novaya Gazeta.

Faced with mounting criticism over its handling of the Beslan crisis, the Kremlin kicked a damage-control campaign into high gear.

In an extraordinary admission, Kremlin-controlled Rossia television said Sunday night that the authorities had covered up the truth about how many hostages were being held in the Beslan school.

Then Ref Shakirov, the respected editor of Izvestia, which provided some of the best coverage of the crisis, resigned Monday. One of his colleagues said the Kremlin had ordered his ouster. (Story, Page 3)

Most Russian newspapers on Monday demanded that the authorities explain why they had not told the truth about the number of hostages. Authorities put the number at 354 people, but Beslan residents quickly pointed out that there must be many more. About 900 students attend the school, and parents and teachers were also being held hostage.

....

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/09/07/003.html


Tuesday, September 7, 2004. Page 3.

Izvestia Editor Resigns Over Beslan Coverage

By Oksana Yablokova
Staff Writer

MT

Izvestia devoted the front-page of its Saturday issue to a photograph from Beslan.


Raf Shakirov resigned Monday as the editor of Izvestia, which has provided some of the best coverage of the Beslan hostage crisis. A newspaper staff member said the Kremlin had demanded his ouster.

Shakirov said his resignation was connected to a dispute with the newspaper's owner over its Saturday issue, which was filled with large, dramatic photographs from Beslan.

"The leadership of Prof-Media and I disagreed on the format of this issue. It is considered too emotional and poster-like and, in general, papers are not made like that," Shakirov told Radio Liberty.

"We did it ... proceeding from our perception of what this means for the country. And actually this perception proved to be right -- that this is a war," Shakirov said, according to a transcript of the interview published on www.newsru.com. "Nevertheless, I am forced to resign from this position."

....

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/09/07/011.html

[Minstrel Boy]

9. New film seeks truth behind 1999 Moscow apartment bombings

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2318184

[slojim240]

10. Just think, they don't have to poison the media in the US; they just pay

them huge sums of money.

[Nlighten1]

12. Old-school hit...

damn

[devinsgram]

13. Sounds simimlar to the Bush crime family scenarios.

Only they use suicide and airplanes.