Vladislav Listyev

Assassins targeted the internationally known journalists Paul Klebnikov and Anna Politkovskaya two years apart in Moscow. Despite promises, arrests, and trials, no one has been brought to justice.

New York, October 4, 2004—Moscow police have backed away from statements made by their chief last week in which he said two Chechen men were considered suspects in the murder of Paul Klebnikov, editor of Forbes Russia, according to local press reports.

Police Chief Vladimir Pronin was widely quoted in local and international news reports September 28 as saying that police had made progress in the investigation. He said two Chechens arrested in a kidnapping case were found with a gun believed to be used in the Klebnikov slaying.

New York, September 28, 2004—Moscow police said today that they have arrested two Chechen men suspected in the July 9 murder of Paul Klebnikov, editor of Forbes Russia, according to local and international press reports.

Police Chief Vladimir Pronin said the men, arrested last night, had been wanted in connection with a kidnapping case. Three pistols were confiscated during the arrest, and preliminary findings indicated one might have been used in the Klebnikov slaying, Pronin told the Interfax news agency. The suspects denied involvement in the murder and said the pistol was given to them, a police source told the state news agency RIA-Novosti.

Washington, August 19, 2004—A delegation led by the Committee to Protect Journalists met with senior U.S. and Russian officials today, calling on them to work together to aggressively investigate and prosecute those responsible for the July murder in Moscow of Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov.

"We urge U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin to ensure that Paul Klebnikov's killers are brought to justice," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said later. "The business and international communities are watching developments in this case very closely."

Your Excellency:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls on you to address the climate of lawlessness that has led to the slayings of more than a dozen independent journalists in Russia in four years, most recently the July 9 murder of Paul Klebnikov, the 41-year-old editor of the Russian edition of Forbes Magazine.

Klebnikov is the 15th journalist killed in connection with his work during your tenure. Yet no one has been brought to justice in any of the slayings, creating a sense of impunity that endangers all journalists and undermines your democracy.