(Globe International/IFEX) – “Udriin sonin” (“Daily News”) national newspaper journalist S. Enkjtuul has been threatened for her series of articles on the bankruptcies of some private savings and credit associations. On 13 June 2006, after her article entitled, “Are the bankrupted financial associations guiding police to a mafia network?” was published, she was called for […]
(Globe International/IFEX) – “Udriin sonin” (“Daily News”) national newspaper journalist S. Enkjtuul has been threatened for her series of articles on the bankruptcies of some private savings and credit associations. On 13 June 2006, after her article entitled, “Are the bankrupted financial associations guiding police to a mafia network?” was published, she was called for a meeting at her office with Mr. B. Tamir, who had been mentioned in her article. Tamir, together with two young men, invited her to sit in their car and asked her to publish an immediate correction. The journalist refused to sit in a stranger’s car. Furthermore, she told them that the article published was the result of her considerable investigative work.
According to the journalist, they said, “If you do not rectify your mistake immediately, we’ll solve this problem in our own way.”
Since then, someone has been calling her mobile phone and threatening her, saying, “We have been watching you. The article you published on us was based on false information. When will your next article be published?” Along with these threatening calls, she has noticed that she is regularly being followed.
According to Globe International’s lawyer and monitor, who had a meeting with the journalist, “The executives of ‘Udriin sonin’ helped to change her cell phone number and informed the police department of the Sukhbaatar district of the capital, Ulaan Baatar. The police department has provided a police guard for the journalist at the newspaper editors’ request”.
Two days after the visit, on 15 June 2006, the chairman of the government’s Financial Regulatory Committee, who had closely examined all issues relating to the private savings and credit associations, was murdered in his office.
According to media reports, the killer was the owner of a private savings and credit association which is in severe financial trouble.
The police department has filed criminal charges against Mr. B. Tamir, who had threatened the journalist and tried to make her publish a correction to her article.
To date the police investigation has not reached any conclusions and the case is still pending.
