In Russia, journalists who expose corruption have been savagely beaten in a wave of unsolved attacks and official harassment in the region surrounding Moscow. “Rarely, if ever, is anyone held responsible,” writes Clifford J. Ley in this New York Times story of 5/18/2010, “Russian journalists, fighting graft, pay in blood.”
KHIMKI, Russia — Mikhail Beketov had been warned, but would not stop writing. About dubious land deals. Crooked loans. Under-the-table hush money. All evidence, he argued in his newspaper, of rampant corruption in this Moscow suburb.
“Last spring, I called for the resignation of the city’s leadership,” Mr. Beketov said in one of his final editorials. “A few days later, my automobile was blown up. What is next for me?”
Not long after, he was savagely beaten outside his home and left to bleed in the snow. His fingers were bashed, and three later had to be amputated, as if his assailants had sought to make sure that he would never write another word. He lost a leg. Now 52, he is in a wheelchair, his brain so damaged that he cannot utter a simple sentence.
Read the rest of the story here. There’s also a slide show here and a fascinating related story about an editor who was beaten, then pressured by police to say it was his fault.
It’s just nice to know that people can still stand up for what they believe in, even if through such a physically non-aggressive medium like journalism.