While the fate of Marina OVSYANNIKOVA who burst into the television news, striking a sign denouncing the war against Ukraine remains unknown, the case recalls several cases of arrests and assassinations having targeted Russian journalists since March 2000, date of taking power by Vladimir Putin.
The noose seems tight for journalists who oppose the Kremlin. Indeed, according to the European Journalists site, which quotes the European Federation of Journalists, 22 journalists are currently behind bars in Russia. A figure which reflects the situation in the sector and which proves that the non -“tamed” media represent a sworn enemy of Moscow.
But with the Marina case, observers fear that the list already long risks lengthening more. Will she be imprisoned for her act? Or worse, will it be murdered?
Murdered journalists
It is estimated that 21 journalists have been killed since the ruling of the Russian president. In the vast majority of cases, no one was found guilty and convicted of these murders.
Among the assassinations that caused ink to flow that that of journalist Pavel Cheremet, killed on July 20, 2016 in kyiv following the explosion of a bomb placed under his car.
Also, seven journalists and collaborators of the newspaper Novaïa Gazeta were killed between 2000 and 2009, including Natalia Estemirova and Anna Politkovskaïa, who both strongly criticized human rights abuses in Chechnya.
Paul Klebnikov, an American journalist of Russian origin who held the position of chief discount of the Russian publishing of the American magazine Forbes, was shot dead on July 9, 2004 while he left his office.
