René van der Linden, president PACE, tevreden over arrestaties in verband met de moord op Anna Politkovskaya (en)
Press release - 556(2007)
27.08.2007
Murder of Anna Politkovskaya: PACE President welcomes today's arrests
Strasbourg, 27.08.2007 - The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), René van der Linden, today warmly welcomed the efforts by the Russian authorities which have led to the arrest of a group of people allegedly involved in the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
"Journalists are indispensable advocates of the freedom of expression and thus an important pillar of democracy. The assassination of one of the most courageous journalists in Russia, who did outstanding work in exposing human rights abuses in Chechnya, was a direct attack on democracy," he said.
"I am confident that a thorough investigation in the framework of the forthcoming court proceedings will shed full light on this murder. I would like to thank the Russian authorities for the work that has been done so far, and encourage them to spare no effort to reveal the truth," he added.
Since the assassination of Anna Politkovskaya, both PACE and its President René van der Linden have urged the Russian authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice on many occasions.
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