His Excellency, Mamedov Georgiy Enverovich
Russian Ambassador to Canada
285 Charlotte Street
Ottawa, ON
K1N 8L5

October 17, 2008

Dear Ambassador,

I am writing on behalf of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), a non-profit, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect press freedom and freedom of expression around the world.

CJFE calls for a fair, transparent and public trial of the suspects involved in the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Politkovskaya, who covered Chechnya for seven years for Novaya Gazeta, was shot four times in the elevator of her apartment building in Moscow on October 7, 2006. In her reporting, Politkovskaya exposed human rights abuses, disappearances, corruption, torture, and murder. For this, she endured threats, imprisonment, forced exile, and poisoning.

More than two years later, three men, including a former police officer with the Moscow Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, will go to trial for their alleged involvement in her murder. A fourth suspect, a former Federal Security Service (FSB) lieutenant colonel, has been charged with abuse of office and extortion. However, the search for the mastermind behind the murder continues.

CJFE is extremely concerned by the possibility of a closed trial because of classified material involved in the case. With recent reports of an apparent poisoning of Politkovskaya family lawyer, Karinna Moskalenko, days before she was due to appear in a Moscow court, it is more important than ever that this trial does not take place behind closed doors. CJFE asks His Excellency to convey our concerns to the Russian government to ensure an open trial to the press and the public.

We thank you for your attention and look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Arnold Amber, President

CC: Mr. Ralph Lysyshyn, Canadian Ambassador to Russia
The Honourable David Emerson, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs