Russia: Politkovskaya anniversary highlights threats to freedom of expression

On the day when hundreds rallied in Moscow to mark the third anniversary of campaigning journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s murder, attention is being drawn to the growing threats to freedom of expression in Russia.

“Democracy only starts at the ballot box,” writes K. Anthony Appiah, president of the board of trustees of the PEN American Center. “The murder of journalists affects more than just journalists; and the undermining of Russian democracy is a problem for more than just Russia,” he notes, citing the cases of Politkovskaya, Natalya Estemirova, Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova, amongst others.

A journalist who criticized the Soviet Union was recently forced into hiding and representatives of the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, who were planning to attend the Politkovskaya memorial, were denied visas by the authorities.

The Russian human rights group Memorial – a grantee of the National Endowment for Democracy – is one of three finalists for the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Ulrich Speck at the indispensable Global Europe reports that the parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Development committees have voted on the three finalists: Palestinian human rights activist and gynaecologist Izzeldin Abuelaish; Eritrean writer and political prisoner Dawit Isaak; and Lyudmila Alexeyeva, Oleg Orlov and Sergei Kovalev on behalf of Memorial. The winner will be selected by the EP political group leaders on 22 October.

• Iran’s One Million Signatures campaign has won the Anna Politkovskaya award for courage. The women’s group risks harassment, physical assaults and imprisonment to collect one million signatures on a petition demanding equal rights.