Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov speaks out against the war in Ukraine
The editor-in-chief of Novaja Gazeta, one of the few independent media in Russia, has released a video message in which he speaks out against the war in Ukraine. The courageous Dmitri Muratov recently won the Nobel Peace Prize, along with colleague Maria Ressa from the Philippines.
His newspaper is an icon of independent journalism in Russia, and he has been a longstanding friend of Free Press Unlimited. Novaja Gazeta has been through a lot, editors have lost many colleagues over the years. They were murdered by accomplices of Putin's regime.
The murder of Anna Politkovskaya in particular stands out because of her critical reporting on the Russian crimes in Chechnya. Russia's actions have been condemned by the European Human Rights Court after years of struggle by lawyers. Yet impunity remains the norm for the government in Russia.
Recently, Dmitry Muratov addressed a conference in Estonia, in which he spoke about a recent case of a forced evacuation of a reporter and their family because of murder threats.
The journalist had reported on an investigating judge who had been kidnapped and brought in Chechnya to disappear in a dungeon. An act of lawlessness that surprised even the Kremlin, he said. Nevertheless, the reporter was forced to flee due to of lack of protection by the authorities.
At the conference, Muratov said Russia is led by criminals. However, the reporters of Novaja Gazeta continue their courageous work, with the portraits of the murdered journalists on the wall in the newsrooms.
Author: Leon Willems.
