[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E852]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONDEMNING MURDER OF AMERICAN JOURNALIST PAUL KLEBNIKOV ON JULY 9, 
   2004, IN MOSCOW AND MURDERS OF OTHER MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA IN THE 
                           RUSSIAN FEDERATION

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 16, 2006

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 499, 
condemning the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov in Moscow 
and the murders of other members of the media in the Russian 
Federation.
  Less than two weeks ago, on World Press Freedom Day, my colleague 
Mike Pence and I launched the new Congressional Caucus for Freedom of 
the Press. Representatives from a variety of non-governmental 
organizations came to extend their endorsement of this undertaking and 
several other Members of Congress spoke about the importance of press 
freedom for promoting democracy and human rights around the world.
  The guests of honor, however--and the reason we were all there--were 
the journalists who came to share their stories of persecution and 
harassment. He Qinglian spent a year under 24-hour surveillance when 
the Chinese Propaganda Department accused her of `inciting antagonism 
between the different strata of Chinese society' with her exposes of 
government corruption. After trying to investigate the presence of 
Taliban and AI-Qaeda elements in tribal areas in the autonomous zone 
between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Khawar Mehdi Rizvi was detained and 
tortured by Pakistani security forces for almost three months, before 
human rights groups and media organizations helped secure his escape to 
the United States.
  We were also joined by Musa Klebnikov, the widow of American 
journalist, Paul Klebnikov, whose unresolved murder this resolution 
condemns. Mrs. Klebnikov told us that Paul believed that without 
freedom of the press there is no civil society, and can be no true 
democracy. He died for this ideal, becoming one of the fallen heroes of 
this ongoing worldwide struggle.
  Paul committed himself to revealing the corrupt underside of Russia 
as well as celebrating its successes. His murder reveals both the 
importance of this type of work as well as the dangers facing 
journalists in the Russian Federation. Paul was the twelfth reporter to 
be killed in Russia since President Putin came to power in 2000. 
Russia's press laws remain very far below European standards and in the 
nearly two years since Paul's murder, working conditions for 
journalists continued to worsen alarmingly.
  Paul's murder stimulated the Russian government to dedicate real 
effort to prosecuting the hit men who shot him, and this resolution 
commends that effort. Unfortunately, two days after expressing her hope 
that this trial would set a standard for future cases of media 
persecution, the Russian court acquitted his killers. This resolution 
calls upon the Government of Russia to continue its inquiries into 
Paul's murder and to take appropriate action to protect the 
independence and freedom of journalists in the country.
  Paul Klebnikov's murder exposed the problem of violence against 
journalists in Russia and increased the awareness of widespread threats 
to press freedom. The Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press was 
created to highlight and condemn media censorship and the persecution 
of journalists around the world. This Resolution is an important 
affirmation of these objectives, and I commend my colleague, Mr. 
McCotter, for bringing it to the floor, and encourage broad support for 
its passage.

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