July 12, 2004

His Excellency, Georgiy Enverovich Mamedov, Ambassador
The Embassy of the Russian Federation
285 Charlotte St.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 8L5 Canada

Excellency,

I am writing on behalf of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), a non-profit, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect press freedom and freedom of expression around the world.

CJFE would like to express its shock and dismay over the killing of Paul Klebnikov, investigative journalist and editor of Forbes magazine's Russian edition.

On July 9, 2004, Mr. Klebnikov, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and Russia's business elite, was shot and killed by unknown assailants as he left his office in Moscow. He was shot four times from a passing car and died of his wounds later that day.

The assassination of Mr. Klebnikov, which police believe was linked to his work, is indicative of the extreme danger that journalists in Russia must now contend with. This is the second killing of a journalist in 2004 following Adlan Khasanov's death in an explosion in Chechnya in May. In 2003, at least three journalists were killed, two were kidnapped and two dozen were attacked. There have been no arrests in connection with any of these murders and one of the kidnapped journalists has not been heard from in over a year.

We call on your government to find those who killed Mr. Klebnikov and ensure that he does not join the swelling ranks of journalists who have been slain with impunity in Russia. We urge the government of Russia to protect members of the press from the violence that has become all too common in their line of work.

We request your Embassy convey our concerns to the Government of Russia.

I look forward to receiving your prompt reply.

Yours truly,

Arnold Amber
President

Case file number: PL-O416