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ALERT - RUSSIA
18 June 2007
Investigative reporter shot, wounded in Moscow
SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
**For further information on the Klebnikov (Khlebnikov) case, see IFEX
alerts of 16 March 2007, 13 November, 27 and 11 July, 28 June, 9 May 2006
and others**
(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 15 June 2007 CPJ press release:
RUSSIA: Investigative reporter shot, wounded in Moscow
New York, June 15, 2007 - The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces
the shooting of investigative reporter Andrei Kalitin, who had been working
on a book alleging criminal dealings in Russia's aluminum business.
Kalitin, 37, was shot in the shoulder Wednesday evening as he was leaving
his home to meet with a colleague, according to local media reports. He has
worked as a special correspondent for the investigative journalism program
"Spetsrassledovaniye" (Special Investigation) on Russia's national
television Channel One since 2006.
"We are deeply concerned about the safety of Andrei Kalitin, who had worked
on sensitive issues prior to the attack," said Joel Simon, CPJ's executive
director. "We are asking Russian authorities to thoroughly investigate the
assault on our colleague and bring all involved to justice."
Kalitin gave a detailed account of the shooting to the independent business
daily Kommersant and the independent news Web site Gazeta but said he
couldn't identify the shooter because his face was obscured by a baseball
cap. He said the shooter used a gun with a silencer and fired just once.
Kalitin immediately sought medical help but was not hospitalized. He didn't
immediately report the attack to the police.
Police have not yet opened a criminal case into the attack, according to
local press reports.
For the past four months, Kalitin had been working on a book alleging mafia
involvement in the aluminum business. The book, titled Mafia in Black, is
to be released in August. Kalitin told Gazeta that the week before the
attack, his phone would ring in the early morning but when he would pick it
up, the caller on the other end would hang up, Gazeta reported.
Kalitin is a former reporter for "Sovershenno Sekretno" (Top Secret), an
independent anti-corruption television program produced in the 1990s by
legendary Russian journalist Artyom Borovik.
Among the topics Kalitin has investigated are the dealings of the Russian
mafia in the United States, the conflict in Chechnya and the North
Caucasus, and the July 2004 slaying of Forbes-Russia Editor Paul Klebnikov.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit
http://www.cpj.org
For further information, contact Nina Ognianova (x106) or Tara Ornstein (x
101) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465
1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: europe@cpj.org, nognianova@cpj.org ,
tornstein@cpj.org, Internet: http://www.cpj.org/
The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of CPJ.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit CPJ.
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