| In a sign that the government has come to see the killing
of Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov as not just another murder, the
unit of the Prosecutor General's Office that handles high-priority cases
was put in charge of the case Monday.
"This means that the case's status has been raised," Prosecutor
General's Office spokesman Viktor Potapov said. The investigation had
been handled by the City Prosecutor's Office, which had reported little
progress.
The first official reaction to Friday night's killing also came Monday,
when Mikhail Seslavinsky, the head of the Federal Press and Mass Media
Agency, expressed his condolences to the family and friends of Klebnikov,
a 41-year-old American.
"A talented journalist and media manager has died," Seslavinsky
wrote in an official statement carried by Interfax. "We hope that
the motive behind the murder will be found and those guilty of the murder
punished."
The motive, however, remained unclear. The most popular theory put forward
by Russian newspapers on Monday was that the murder could have been ordered
by someone displeased by the list of Russia's 100 wealthiest people that
was published by Forbes in May.
Along the same line went the theory that any other businessman investigated
by Forbes could be linked to the murder.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who topped the Forbes list, sent a letter of condolence
to Forbes' offices in New York.
"Paul undoubtedly made a very important contribution to promoting
the traditions of openness and transparency in Russian markets,"
wrote Khodorkovsky, the jailed former CEO of Yukos. "He was a man
one could argue with, in a constructive spirit, and argue we did. No matter
whether they agreed or disagreed with him, many people disclosed things
to Paul that had previously not been in the public domain."
Another theory mentioned by a number of major newspapers, including
Kommersant, Izvestia and Vremya Novostei, was that Chechen separatists
could be connected to the killing.
Klebnikov published a book last year based on interviews with former
separatist commander Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev. The book, "Conversations
With a Barbarian," is a mix of Nukhayev's tales of fighting in Chechnya,
his views on the future of Islam in Russia and worldwide, and Klebnikov's
own commentary. It could have provoked a negative reaction from Nukhayev's
immediate allies or other Chechen leaders on the separatists' side, the
newspapers said.
Klebnikov met Nukhayev while investigating Boris Berezovsky's connections
to Chechen rebels. Berezovsky, too, was mentioned in the papers as someone
who could have been sufficiently angry with Klebnikov to wish him dead.
In 2000, Klebnikov published "Godfather of the Kremlin: Boris Berezovsky
and the Looting of Russia."
The U.S. Embassy said Monday it is staying in close contact with Russian
law enforcement authorities regarding the investigation.
Embassy spokesman Thomas Leary issued a statement extending deep condolences
to Klebnikov's family from Ambassador Alexander Vershbow and the entire
embassy community.
"Paul Klebnikov's background and interests ideally suited him to
the task of explaining Russia to Americans and vice versa," the statement
said. "He was a person who tried to take the best American values
-- fair play, equality and openness -- and apply them in Russia, a country
that he loved."
See also:
the original at
www.themoscowtimes.com
Freedom of
Speech and Media Law in Russia
| 