Monday, September 1, 2008

Satellite photos show systematic destruction of Georgian villages

I wonder how the Russian government will spin this? I expect it will just be ignored.

read more | digg story

3 comments:

Ani said...

They've decided not to care about spin anymore, apparently:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7590719.stm

Kremlin critic shot in Ingushetia

The owner of an internet site critical of the Russian authorities in the volatile region of Ingushetia has been shot dead in police custody.
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Trips to Azeri-Dagestani border are not highly recommended right now...

Eric said...

Thanks for the news. Very sad to hear about this event, obviously. Shot in police custody. How convenient! I will stay away from the Russian lines.

Ani said...

Not to alarm you, but I imagine it is difficult to be well informed where you are--a Dagestani journalist was shot and killed today as well. Anway, even with Cheney around, Azerbaijan is a safer place than Russia right now...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/world/europe/
04journalists.html?ref=europe

2 More Journalists Are Attacked in Caucasus
By ELLEN BARRY
MOSCOW — A television reporter was mortally wounded and a newspaper editor was severely beaten Tuesday in Russia’s north Caucasus region, bringing to three the number of attacks on journalists this week in the volatile area.

Telman Alishaev, a reporter for Islamic TV in Dagestan, died Wednesday after being shot on Tuesday while sitting in his car, an Interior Ministry spokesman said. Miloslav Bitokov, who edits a weekly newspaper in Kabardino-Balkaria, a region in southern Russia, was hospitalized for head injuries after being attacked outside his home on Tuesday.
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The third attack occurred in Dagestan, where Russian troops have battled sporadically with insurgents since 2000. On Tuesday, Mr. Alishaev, who reported on Wahhabism, a strict Sunni sect, was shot in his car, said Mark Tolchinsky, a spokesman for Dagestan’s Interior Ministry.

A news radio station, Ekho Moskvy, reported that two unknown men shot him in the head and shoulder while he was sitting in his car, and that he died of his wounds early Wednesday. The report cited police sources who said that Mr. Alishaev became a target because of his criticism of Islamic extremism in Dagestan.