Europe

Documents & Texts from the Washington File

14 October 2009
Murderers of Russian Journalists Must Face Justice, Clinton Says

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says those who have attacked Russian journalists and other human rights defenders must be brought to justice. She told Russian civil society leaders that democracy and a respect for human rights are integral to their country’s future stability and prosperity.

Speaking to Russia’s Ekho Moskvy Radio October 14, Clinton said it is “hurtful” to see the imprisonments, detentions, beatings and killings of those who advocate for greater freedoms.

“Every country has criminal elements, [and] every country has people who try to abuse power,” but in recent years “there have been too many of these incidents,” she said.

The Obama administration is committed to supporting people who are struggling for universal human rights and advocating for democracy, she said.

“I think people want their government to stand up and say this is wrong, and they’re going to try to prevent it and they’re going to make sure the people are brought to justice who are engaged in such behavior,” the secretary said. The killings are also “a very serious challenge to order and to the fair functioning of society.” More must be done to ensure that “no one had impunity from prosecution who might have been involved in any such criminal acts,” she added.

Journalist Anna Politkovskaya was killed in her Moscow apartment building October 7, 2006, and her killers remain unknown. At an October 13 reception in Moscow for civil society leaders, Clinton said Politkovskaya was one of 18 journalists who have been killed in Russia since 2000 in retaliation for their work, and “in only one case have the killers been convicted.”

“A society cannot be truly open when those who stand up and speak out are murdered, and people cannot trust the rule of law when killers act with impunity,” she said. “When violence like this goes unpunished in any society, it’s undermining the rule of law, chills public discourse, which is, after all, the lifeblood of an open society, and it diminishes the public’s confidence and trust in their own government.”

Clinton told her audience that democracy and a respect for human rights are also essential to building a stable political system and creating a broader base of prosperity for the country.

“Innovation and entrepreneurship can only thrive in an open society where knowledge and ideas are exchanged as freely as goods and capital,” she said. “Just as competition in the marketplace fuels growth and better products, political competition produces more accountable governance and better political solutions.”

The secretary said she is encouraged by Russian President Dimitry Medvedev’s statements against corruption and in support of a more open society and a stronger rule of law.

“He has also acknowledged that Russia’s prosperity is dependent upon responsible governance, because stable economic development is impossible without accountable, transparent governance,” she said.

The Obama administration will continue to express its support for the advancement of human rights in its discussions with the Russian government, she said. Applauding and thanking the civil society leaders, bloggers and journalists in the audience, she said each group is playing a vital role in holding individuals accountable for abuses of power.

“You have seen friends and colleagues harassed, intimidated and even killed. And yet, you go on,” Clinton said, adding that she had come “to underscore a very simple message: The United States stands firmly by your side.”

A transcript of the Clinton interview is available on America.gov.

back to top ^