(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the 18 July 2003 shooting of journalist Alikhan Gulyev. The organisation has called for a thorough investigation, which takes into account the threats the journalist received in 2002 after writing articles about the presidential election in the Russian republic of Ingushetia. The journalist, who was killed by two bullets in […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the 18 July 2003 shooting of journalist Alikhan Gulyev. The organisation has called for a thorough investigation, which takes into account the threats the journalist received in 2002 after writing articles about the presidential election in the Russian republic of Ingushetia.
The journalist, who was killed by two bullets in the back as he was entering his apartment in northern Moscow, was a freelancer for the TV Tsenter station and “Kommersant” newspaper. He had covered the Chechnya conflict since arriving in Moscow in 2002. Gulyev was previously based in Ingushetia, where he worked for the GTRK public television station and “Severny Kavkaz” newspaper. Officials have launched an inquiry into the murder.
In the run-up to the 16 April 2002 election in Ingushetia, Gulyev filed a complaint for violation of the electoral law against Interior Minister Khamsat Gutseryev, a candidate backed by former Ingushetian President Ruslan Aushev. Soon afterwards, on 27 March 2002, unidentified gunmen fired at his car. The Supreme Court upheld Gulyev’s complaint on 5 April 2002 and disqualified Gutseryev from the election, saying he should have resigned as minister before running.
In a December 2001 article in “Severny Kavkaz”, Gulyev also accused Gutseryev of using public funds for his campaign. The journalist, who had received threats, decided to move to Moscow following the elections, which were won by Murat Ziazikov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
