Grigol Chikhladze

Caucasus Images

August 10, 2008, in Tskhinvali, Georgia

Alexander Klimchuk, 27, and Grigol Chikhladze, 30, were killed in South Ossetia on August 10 when they tried to enter the regional capital, Tskhinvali, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.

Russian press reports said Klimchuk, head of the Tbilisi-based Caucasus Images photo agency, was on assignment for the Russian news service Itar-Tass. Chikhladze, a freelancer and member of Caucasus Images, was covering the conflict for Russian Newsweek. The two journalists had freelanced for a number of Russian and international news agencies.

The Russian business daily Kommersant, citing information from Caucasus Images, said the journalists were killed by South Ossetian militia. Kommersant reported that Klimchuk, Chikhladze, and two other reporters--U.S. journalist Winston Featherly and Georgian colleague Temuri Kiguradze of the Tbilisi-based, English-language newspaper The Messenger--were trying to avoid a roadblock set up by South Ossetian militia when they saw a group of armed men.

The journalists reportedly could not identify whether the armed men were Georgian soldiers or South Ossetian militiamen because it was dark. Klimchuk greeted them in Georgian and the armed men started shooting, Kommersant reported. Klimchuk and Chikhladze died at the scene, while Featherly and Kiguradze were wounded and hospitalized.

Medium: Print, Internet

Job: Print Reporter

Beats Covered: War

Gender: Male

Local or Foreign: Local

Freelance: Yes

Type of Death: Crossfire/Combat-Related

Suspected Source of Fire: Military Officials

Related Articles:

• Attacks on the Press in 2008: Georgia, February 10, 2009
• Dutch cameraman killed, reporter wounded in Georgia, August 12, 2008
• Two killed, several injured or missing in South Ossetia, August 11, 2008