[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 87 (Thursday, June 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S6812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SENATE RESOLUTION 526--CONDEMNING THE MURDER OF UNITED STATES 
 JOURNALIST PAUL KLEBNIKOV ON JULY 9, 2004, IN MOSCOW, AND THE MURDERS 
        OF OTHER MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

  Mrs. CLINTON (for herself and Mr. Brownback) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 526

       Whereas, on July 9, 2004, United States journalist Paul 
     Klebnikov was murdered by gunmen as he exited the Moscow 
     offices of Forbes Magazine;
       Whereas no person has been convicted of any offense in 
     connection with the murder of Mr. Klebnikov;
       Whereas Mr. Klebnikov is survived by his wife Helen and his 
     3 young children;
       Whereas 12 journalists have been murdered in the Russian 
     Federation since 2000 and Mr. Klebnikov was the first and 
     only citizen of the United States among those journalists;
       Whereas the Office of the Russian Prosecutor General 
     arrested and tried Musa Vahaev and Kazbek Dukzov for the 
     murder of Mr. Klebnikov;
       Whereas Musa Vahaev and Kazbek Dukzov were acquitted on May 
     5, 2006, of the charges of murdering Mr. Klebnikov;
       Whereas the Government of Russia has stated that the murder 
     of Mr. Klebnikov was ordered by Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev, a 
     fugitive Chechen criminal gang leader, but has not publicly 
     released any evidence of the complicity of Mr. Nukhayev;
       Whereas it remains unclear who ordered the murder of Mr. 
     Klebnikov or if any party will be convicted of that crime;
       Whereas the attorneys that represented the Klebnikov family 
     have alleged that numerous procedural violations occurred 
     during the trial;
       Whereas a group of investigative journalists from the 
     United States has launched an independent inquiry into the 
     death of Mr. Klebnikov;
       Whereas the 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
     published by the Department of State indicated that the 
     Government of Russia had continued to weaken the independence 
     and freedom of expression of the media industry of Russia, 
     particularly among the major national television networks and 
     regional media outlets of that country; and
       Whereas, on June 4, 2006, President Putin told a conference 
     of the World Association of Newspapers that ``A progressive 
     state requires a free press.'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns--
       (A) the murder of United States journalist Paul Klebnikov 
     on July 9, 2004, in Moscow; and
       (B) the murders of other members of the media in the 
     Russian Federation;
       (2) commends the Office of the Russian Prosecutor General 
     for its continuing investigation of the murder of Mr. 
     Klebnikov;
       (3) urges the Government of Russia--
       (A) to continue its inquiries to determine all parties 
     involved in the murder of Mr. Klebnikov; and
       (B) to bring those parties responsible for the murder of 
     Mr. Klebnikov to justice;
       (4) urges the Government of Russia to accept offers of 
     assistance with the investigation of the murder of Mr. 
     Klebnikov from--
       (A) the United States; and
       (B) other concerned governments;
       (5) urges the Government of Russia, upon request, to extend 
     appropriate assistance to investigative journalists who have 
     started to conduct independent inquiries relating to the 
     death of Mr. Klebnikov, to the extent that such assistance 
     conforms with the privacy safeguards and the laws of Russia; 
     and
       (6) urges the Government of Russia to take appropriate 
     action to protect the independence and freedom of--
       (A) the media of Russia; and
       (B) all visiting members of the media.

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