Russia’s expulsion of the Guardian’s Luke Harding is part of a policy of attempting to control reportage, say Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan
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The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent has been expelled from Russia. Luke Harding attempted to re-enter Russia on the weekend, instead his visa was annulled and he was detained in an airport cell for 45 minutes before being returned to the UK on the next available flight. He was told: “For you Russia is closed“. This is thought to be the first incident of this kind since the cold war ended, the Russians are yet to provide an official explanation. Harding’s removal came after he reported on claims made in leaked US diplomatic cables that Russia had become a “virtual Mafia state” under Vladimir Putin, he also also co-authored Wikileaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy.
A Russian court has overturned a slander verdict against investigative reporter Mikhail Beketov. On Friday (Dec 10) a Khimki court reversed last month’s conviction, Beketov was originally fined 5,000 roubles after he accused the local mayor of setting fire to his car. The incident left the journalist brain-damaged, unable to speak and crippled. The attacks on Beketov are alleged to be related to his investigation into construction of a motorway through the Khimki forest, which he linked to powerful political and business interests.
Khusein Shadiyev, editor of Serdalo newspaper (Ingushetia – North Caucasus) has been hospitalised with a gunshot wound on Monday, ITAR-TASS reported.
The journalist’s driver said a Zhiguli car drove up alongside the editor’s Volga, and gunshots were fired out of the vehicle’s half-open window, hitting Shadiyev’s right shoulder, according to Kommersant. The aggressors quickly fled the scene and are still at large.
Shadiyev’s colleagues believe that the attack was related to the reporter’s work.