Trump on Putin's crackdown on journalists: 'it’s never been proven'

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Trump on Putin's crackdown on journalists: 'it’s never been proven'

Oliver Laughland in New York
Sunday 20 December 2015 19.12 GMT

Donald Trump on Sunday defended Russian president Vladimir Putin’s record on press freedom, challenging journalists to provide him with evidence that the Kremlin has ever sponsored efforts to murder reporters. The Republican frontrunner also vowed again to work closely with Russia, if elected president.

Trump was praised this week by Putin, who described the billionaire businessman as a “very colourful, talented person”. Putin’s words fuelled attacks by Trump’s rivals for the Republican nomination.

But Trump, whose lead in the polls has grown after a series of inflammatory Islamophobic slurs, called the Russian president’s remarks a “great honour” and described Putin as “a man highly respected within his own country and beyond”.

Trump was called out on the platitudes during an interview with MSNBC on Friday. Asked to condemn the Kremlin’s alleged involvement in the assassination of reporters, he responded: “Our country does plenty of killing also.”

In a heated interview on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, Trump said: “In all fairness to Putin, you’re saying he killed people. I haven’t seen that. I don’t know that he has.”

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/20/donald-trump-defends-vladimir-putin-endorsement

The relevant comments start around 5:15 into the video.

[saltpoint]

1. ABC's This Week should also have asked

members of Pussy Riot for their views of Mr. Putin.

I'm guessing their view might part company with Mr. Trump's.

[Jarqui]

2. List of journalists killed in Russia Under Putin (incl. 2nd Chechen conflict)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia
2000–2002
2000[77]

1 February – Vladimir Yatsina, a photocorrespondent with ITAR-TASS. On his first and only trip to Chechnya he was kidnapped and later killed (by a group of Wahhabis some suggest).[78] Homicide [J].
10 February – Ludmila Zamana, Samara. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
9 March – Artyom Borovik, Sovershenno sekretno periodical and publishing house, director and journalist. Sheremetyevo-1 Airport, Moscow. Incident not confirmed [?J].
22 March – Luisa Arzhieva, correspondent for Istina mira newspaper (Moscow). Avtury, Chechnya. Crossfire [?J].
17 April – Oleg Polukeyev, Homicide.
1 May – Boris Gashev, literary critic. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
13 May – Alexander Yefremov, Chechnya. A photojournalist with west Siberian newspaper Nashe Vremya, Yefremov died when militants blew up a military jeep in which he was travelling. On previous assignments, Yefremov won acclaim for his news photographs from the war-torn region. Crossfire [J].
16 July – Igor Domnikov, from Novaya Gazeta, Moscow. Struck over the head with a hammer in the stairwell of his Moscow apartment building, Domnikov lay in a coma for two months. His murderer was identified in 2003 and convicted in 2007 [3]. The men who ordered and organised the attack have been named by his paper but not charged. Homicide [J].
26 July – Sergei Novikov, Radio Vesna, Smolensk. Shot in a contract killing in stairwell of his apartment building. Claimed that he often criticized the administration of Smolensk Region. Homicide [?J].
21 September – Iskander Khatloni, Radio Free Europe, Moscow. A native of Tajikistan, Khatloni was killed at night in an axe attack on the street outside his Moscow apartment block. His assailant and the motive of the murder remain unknown. A RFE/RL spokeswoman said Khatloni worked on stories about the human-rights abuses in Chechnya.[79] Homicide [nJ].
3 October – Sergei Ivanov, Lada-TV, Togliatti. Shot five times in the head and chest in front of his apartment building. As director of largest independent television company in Togliatti, he was an important player on the local political scene.[80] Homicide. Gang responsible on trial [nJ].
18 October – Georgy Garibyan, journalist with Park TV (Rostov), murdered in Rostov-on-Don [nJ].
20 October – Oleg Goryansky, freelance journalist, press & TV. Murdered in Cherepovets, Vologda Region. Conviction [nJ].
21 October – Raif Ablyashev, photographer with Iskra newspaper. Kungur, Perm Region. Homicide [nJ].
3 November – Sergei Loginov, Lada TV (Togliatti). Incident not confirmed [nJ].
20 November – Pavel Asaulchenko, cameraman for Austrian TV, Moscow. Contract killing. Conviction of perpetrator [nJ].
23 November – Adam Tepsurkayev, Reuters, Chechnya. A Chechen cameraman, he was shot at his neighbor's house in the village of Alkhan-Kala (aka Yermolovka). Tepsurkayev filmed most of Reuters' footage from Chechnya in 2000, including the Chechen rebel Shamil Basayev having his foot amputated. Homicide (war crime) [J].
28 November – Nikolai Karmanov, retired journalist. Lyubim, Yaroslavl Region. Homicide [nJ].
23 December – Valery Kondakov, freelance photographer. Killed in Armavir, Krasnodar Region [nJ].
2001[81]

1 February – Eduard Burmagin, Homicide.
24 February – Leonid Grigoryev, Homicide [nJ].
8 March – Andrei Pivovarov, Homicide.
31 March – Oleg Dolgantsev, Homicide [nJ].
17 May – Vladimir Kirsanov,[82] chief editor. Kurgan, Urals Federal District. Homicide [J].
2 June – Victor Popkov, Novaya gazeta contributore, died in Moscow Region hospital. Wounded in Chechnya two months earlier. Crossfire [J].
11 September – Andrei Sheiko, Homicide [nJ].
19 September – Eduard Markevich, 29, editor and publisher of local newspaper Novy Reft in Sverdlovsk Region. Shot in the back[82] in a contract killing, homicide [J].
5 November – Elina Voronova, Homicide [nJ].
16 November – Oleg Vedenin, Homicide.
21 November – Alexander Babaikin, Homicide [nJ].
1 December – Boris Mityurev, Homicide.
2002[83]

18 January – Svetlana Makarenko, Homicide.
4 March – Konstantin Pogodin, Novoye Delo newspaper, Nizhni Novgorod. Homicide.
8 March – Natalya Skryl, Nashe Vremya newspaper, Taganrog. Homicide [?J].
31 March – Valery Batuyev, Moscow News newspaper, Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
1 April – Sergei Kalinovsky, Moskovskij Komsomolets local edition, Smolensk. Homicide [nJ].
4 April – Vitaly Sakhn-Vald, photojournalist, Kursk. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
25 April – Leonid Shevchenko, Pervoye Chtenie newspaper, Volgograd. Homicide [nJ].
29 April – Valery Ivanov, founder and chief editor of Tolyattinskoye Obozrenie newspaper, Samara Region.[82] Contract killing [J].
20 May – Alexander Plotnikov, Gostiny Dvor newspaper, Tyumen. Homicide.
6 June – Pavel Morozov, Homicide.
25 June – Oleg Sedinko, founder of Novaya Volna TV & Radio Company, Vladivostok. Contract killing, explosive in stairwell [nJ].
20 July – Nikolai Razmolodin, general director of Europroject TV & Radio Company, Ulyanovsk. Homicide.
21 July – Maria Lisichkina Homicide [nJ].
27 July – Sergei Zhabin, press service of the Moscow Region governor. Homicide [nJ].
18 August – Nikolai Vasiliev, Cheboksary city, Chuvashia. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
25 August – Paavo Voutilainen, former chief editor of Karelia magazine, Karelia. Homicide [nJ].
4 September – Leonid Kuznetsov, "Periodicals of Mari-El" publishing house, Yoshkar-Ola.[84] Incident not confirmed [?J].
20 September – Igor Salikov, head of information security at Moskovskij Komsomolets newspaper in Penza. Contract killing [nJ].
26 September – Roderick (Roddy) Scott, Frontline TV Company, Great Britain. Crossfire [J].
2 October – Yelena Popova, Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
19 October – Leonid Plotnikov Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
26 October – Tamara Voinova (Stavropol) and Maxim Mikhailov (Kaliningrad), Dubrovka theatre siege ("Nord Ost" show), Moscow. Terrorist Act [nJ].
21 December – Dmitry Shalayev, Kazan, Tatarstan. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
2003–2005[edit]
2003[85]

7 January – Vladimir Sukhomlin, Internet journalist and editor, Serbia.ru, Moscow. Homicide. Off-duty police convicted of his murder, not those behind this contract killing [J].
11 January – Yury Tishkov, sports commentator, Moscow. Contract killing [nJ].
21 February – Sergei Verbitsky, publisher BNV newspaper. Chita. Homicide [nJ].
18 April – Dmitry Shvets, TV-21 Northwestern Broadcasting, Murmansk. Deputy director of the independent TV-21 station (Northwestern Broadcasting), he was shot dead outside the TV offices. Shvets' colleagues said the station had received multiple threats for its reporting on influential local politicians. Contract killing [nJ].
3 July – Yury Shchekochikhin, Novaya gazeta, Moscow. Deputy editor of Novaya gazeta and a Duma deputy since 1993, he died just a few days before his scheduled trip to USA to discuss the results of his journalist investigation with FBI officials. He investigated "Three Whales Corruption Scandal" that allegedly involved high-ranking FSB officials. Shchekochikhin died from an acute allergic reaction. There has been much speculation about cause of his death. Investigation into his death has been opened and closed four times. Homicide [J].
4 July – Ali Astamirov, France Presse. Went missing in Nazran [?J].
18 July – Alikhan Guliyev, freelance TV journalist, from Ingushetia. Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
10 August – Martin Kraus, Dagestan. On way to Chechnya. Homicide [nJ].
9 October – Alexei Sidorov, Tolyatinskoye Obozreniye, Togliatti. Second editor-in-chief of this local newspaper to be murdered. Predecessor Valery Ivanov shot in April 2002.[82] Homicide. Supposed killer acquitted [?J].
24 October – Alexei Bakhtin, journalist and businessman, formerly Mariiskaya pravda. Mari El. Homicide [nJ].
30 October – Yury Bugrov, editor of Provincial Telegraph. Balakovo, Saratov Region. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
25 December – Pyotr Babenko, editor of Liskinskaya gazeta. Liski, Voronezh Region. Homicide [nJ].
2004[86]

1 February – Yefim Sukhanov, ATK-Media, Archangelsk. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
23 March – Farit Urazbayev, cameraman, Vladivostok TV/Radio Company, Vladivostok. Incident not Confirmed [nJ].
2 May – Shangysh Mongush, correspondent with Khemchiktin Syldyzy newspaper, Tuva. Homicide [?J].
9 May – Adlan Khasanov, Reuters reporter, died in Grozny bomb attack that killed Chechen President Ahmed Kadyrov. Terrorist Act [J].
9 June – Paul Klebnikov, chief editor of newly established Russian version of Forbes magazine, Moscow. Contract killing, alleged perpetrators put on trial and acquitted. Homicide [J].
1 July – Maxim Maximov, journalist with Gorod newspaper, St Petersburg. Body not found. Homicide [J].
10 July – Zoya Ivanova, TV presenter, Buryatia State Television & Radio Company, Ulan Ude, Buryatia. Homicide [nJ].
17 July – Pail Peloyan, editor of Armyansky Pereulok magazine, Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
3 August – Vladimir Naumov, nationalist reporter, Cossack author (Russky Vestnik, Zavtra), Moscow Region. Homicide [nJ].
24 August – Svetlana Shishkina, journalist, Kazan, Tatarstan. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
24 August – Oleg Belozyorov, Moscow-Volgograd flight. Terrorist Act [nJ].
18 September – Vladimir Pritchin, editor-in-chief of North Baikal TV & Radio Company, Buryatia. Homicide [?J].
27 September – Jan Travinsky (St Petersburg), in Irkutsk as political activist for election campaign.[87] Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
2005[88]

23 May – Pavel Makeyev, reporter for TNT-Pulse Company, Rostov-on-Don. Run down while photographing illegal street racing. Incident not Confirmed [?J].
28 July – Magomed Varisov, political analyst and journalist, shot dead near his home in Makhachkala, Dagestan. He "had received threats, was being followed and had unsuccessfully sought help from the local police" according to Committee to Protect Journalists. Sharia Jamaat claimed responsibility for the murder.[89] Homicide [J].
31 August – Alexander Pitersky, Baltika Radio reporter, Saint Petersburg. Homicide [?J].
3 September – Vladimir Pashutin, Smolensky Literator newspaper, Smolensk. Not Confirmed [nJ].
13 October – Tamirlan Kazikhanov, head of press service for Anti-Terrorist Center of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs's Main Department for the Southern Federal District, Nalchik. Crossfire [J].
4 November – Kira Lezhneva, reporter with Kamensky rabochii newspaper, Sverdlovsk Region.[90] Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
2006–2008[edit]
2006[91]

8 January – Vagif Kochetkov, newly appointed Trud correspondent in the region, killed and robbed in Tula. Acquittal [nJ].
26 February – Ilya Zimin, worked for NTV Russia television channel, killed in Moscow flat. Suspect in Moldova trial. Acquittal [nJ].
4 May – Oksana Teslo, media worker, Moscow Region. Arson attack on dacha. Homicide [nJ].
14 May – Oleg Barabyshkin, director of radio station, Chelyabinsk. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
23 May – Vyacheslav Akatov, special reporter, Business Moscow TV show, murdered in Mytyshchi Moscow Region. Killer caught and convicted. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
25 June – Anton Kretenchuk, cameraman, local Channel 38 TV, killed in Rostov-on-Don. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
25 July – Yevgeny Gerasimenko, journalist with Saratovsky Rasklad newspaper. Murdered in Saratov. Conviction [nJ].
31 July – Anatoly Kozulin, retired freelance journalist. Ukhta, Komi. Homicide [nJ].
8 August – Alexander Petrov, editor-in-chief, Right to Choose magazine Omsk, murdered with family while on holiday in Altai Republic. Under-age murderer charged and prosecuted. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
17 August – Elina Ersenoyeva, reporter for Chechenskoye obshchestvo newspaper. Abducted in Grozny, Chechnya. Missing [?J].
13 September – Vyacheslav Plotnikov, reporter, local "Channel 41" TV, Voronezh. Incident not Confirmed [nJ].
7 October – Anna Politkovskaya, commentator with Novaya Gazeta, Moscow, shot in her apartment building's elevator;.[92][93][94][95] Four accused in contract killing, acquitted in February 2009 [J].
16 October – Anatoly Voronin, Itar-TASS news agency, Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
28 December – Vadim Kuznetsov, editor-in-chief of World & Home. Saint Petersburg magazine, killed in Saint Petersburg. Homicide [nJ].
2007[96]

14 January – Yury Shebalkin, retired journalist, formerly with Kaliningradskaya pravda. Homicide in Kaliningrad. Conviction [nJ].
20 January – Konstantin Borovko, presenter of "Gubernia" TV company (Russian: "Губерния&quot , killed in Khabarovsk.[43] Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
2 March – Ivan Safronov, military columnist of Kommersant newspaper. Died in Moscow, cause of death disputed.[97][98] Incident not Confirmed. Investigation under Incitement to Suicide (Article 110) [?J].
15 March – Leonid Etkind, director at Karyera newspaper. Abduction and homicide in Vodnik, Saratov Region. Conviction [nJ].
5 April – Vyacheslav Ifanov, Novoye televidenie Aleiska, cameraman. Previously attacked by local military. Aleisk, Altai. Incident not Confirmed [?J].
Marina Pisareva, deputy head of Russian office of German media group Bertelsmann was found dead at her country cottage outside Moscow in April[99][100]
2008

(Putin's final months as president)

8 February – Yelena Shestakova, former journalist, St Petersburg. Killer sent to psychiatric prison. Homicide [nJ].
21 March – Gadji Abashilov, chief of Dagestan State TV & Radio Company VGTRK, shot in his car in Makhachkala. Homicide [?J].
21 March – Ilyas Shurpayev, Dagestani journalist covering Caucasus on Channel One, was strangled with a belt by robbers in Moscow.[101][102] Alleged killers tracked to Tajikistan and convicted there of his murder. Homicide [?J].
The Medvedev presidency[edit]
2008–2011[edit]
2008[103]

31 August – Magomed Yevloyev, Ingush oppositionist, founder of Ingushetiya.ru, Moscow-based lawyer, shot on return to country while in custody of Ingush police officers.[104][105][106] Killer convicted of negligent homicide, sentence subsequently mitigated. Homicide. Conviction [J].
2 September – Abdulla Alishayev, (aka Telman Alishayev), TV presenter on Muslim channel, shot dead in car, Makhachkala.[107] Homicide [J].
2009[108]

4 January – Shafig Amrakhov, editor of news agency RIA 51, Murmansk, was shot in stairwell entrance from the traumatic pistol on 30 December 2008 and died in hospital.[109] Homicide [nJ].
4 January – Vladislav Zakharchuk, manager of the Arsenyevskie Vesti newspaper in Vladivostok. Died in a fire under suspicious circumstances.[110]
19 January – Anastasia Baburova, Novaya Gazeta, Moscow. On 19 January Stanislav Markelov, lawyer for Novaya gazeta, anti-fascist activist and opponent of human rights abuses in Chechnya, was shot and killed in the centre of Moscow.[111] With him died Anastasia Baburova a trainee reporter with Novaya Gazeta, and a fellow anti-fascist activist.[112][113] In early November 2009 a man and a woman were arrested for the killing.
30 March – Sergei Protazanov, layout artist with Grazhdanskoye soglasie newspaper, Khimki nr. Moscow. Link to work questioned. Incident not Confirmed [nJ].
29 June – Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, chief editor of Corruption and Criminality newspaper in Volgograd died after a severe head injuries in June. He was allegedly struck in the temple by the unknown assailant, although the local police claims fall from the ladder as the reason for injury.[114]
15 July – Natalia Estemirova,[115] a human rights activist with Memorial, who worked with journalists from Novaya gazeta, especially Anna Politkovskaya, and occasionally published in the newspaper herself, having been a TV reporter pre-1999. After years of investigating murders and kidnapping in Chechnya Estemirova was herself abducted that morning in Grozny and found, shot dead, by the roadside several hours later in neighbouring Ingushetia.[116] Homicide [J].
11 August – Malik Akhmedilov,[117] deputy chief editor of the Avar language newspaper Khakikat (Truth), was found shot dead near the Dagestan capital Makhachkala. Homicide [?J].
25 October – Maksharip Aushev was shot dead in Nalchik, capital of Kabardino-Balkaria.[118] When Magomed Yevloyev gave up running Ingushetia.ru, and his replacement (Rosa Malsagova) had to flee abroad to escape threats and harassment, Aushev ran the successor website Ingushetia.org. Link to past or present work unclear. Homicide [?J].
16 November – Olga Kotovskaya, Kaskad radio & TV company, Kaliningrad. Died in a fall from 14th storey-building under suspicious circumstances. Investigation under "Incitement to suicide" (Article 110).[119] [?J].
2010[120]

20 January – Konstantin Popov died from a beating received a fortnight earlier by Russian police, in a detoxification centre for drunk and disorderly.[121] 26-year-old police sergeant charged with his killing. Homicide [nJ].
23 February – Journalist Ivan Stepanov was stabbed to death at his dacha.[122] The murderers have been arrested and sentenced to 16 and 18 years of prison.[123] Homicide [nJ].
20 March – Maxim Zuyev was found murdered in a Kaliningrad flat he was renting. Seven years earlier he was interrogated by the city's police for publishing an anonymous letter alleging corruption among high-ranking police officers in the enclave.[124][125][126][127] "Crime solved", says Investigative Committee.
5 May – Shamil Aliyev, founder of two radio stations and a director of TV network was shot in his car by two unidentified attackers, who also killed his bodyguard and wounded driver.[128][129] Homicide [?J]
13 May – Said Magomedov, director of local television station, Sergokalinsky district, Dagestan. Shot dead when travelling with repairmen to restore sabotaged TV transmitter. Terrorist act [J].
25 June – Dmitry Okkert, Moscow. A presenter with the Expert TV channel, Okkert was found stabbed to death in his own apartment. The director of the Expert media holding, Valery Fadeyev, does not believe that the brutal killing of his colleague was linked to his journalistic activities. Homicide [?J].
25 July – Bella Ksalova, Cherkessk. A correspondent for the Caucasian Knot website and news agency, Ksalova died in a hospital after being hit by a car near her home. The driver was sentenced to 3 1/4 years in penal colony.[130]
1 August – Malika Betiyeva, Grozny-Shatoi highway. The deputy chief editor of Molodyozhnaya smena, and Chechnya correspondent of the "Dosh" (Word) magazine, died with four of her immediate family when a speeding jeep crashed into her car.[131]
11 August – Magomed Sultanmagomedov, Makhachkala. The director of the "Makhachkala TV" station died in the hospital after his car was shot at from another vehicle. This was preceded by an attempted bombing in 18 November 2008.[132] [J]
23 October – Yevgeny Fedotov died in a hospital due to the head injuries received in a violent quarrel with his neighbour. The latter has been charged for manslaughter.[133]
2011

15 December – Gadzhimurat Kamalov, Makhachkala. Investigative reporter – shot 6 times in a drive-by outside his newspaper's offices.[134][135]
Under Putin[edit]
2012[edit]
7 July - Alexander Khodzinsky, journalist in Tulun, was stabbed to death by a local businessman Gennady Zhigarev, former deputy.[136]
5 December - Kazbek Gekkiev, journalist for local TV programmes in Kabardino-Balkaria, was shot dead on street of Nalchik, after threats from local wahhabi extremists.[137]
2013[edit]
9 July - Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev, deputy editor of the Novoe Delo was killed (after numerous death threats and previous assassination attempt in January 2013[138]) by several gunshots while he was driving just 50 metres from his house on the outskirts of provincial capital Makhachkala.[139][140][141]
2014[edit]
1 August - journalist and human rights activist Timur Kuashev was abducted from his home and later found dead in Kabardino-Balkaria.[142] Kuashev was previously stopped by local police for a number of times and received death threats.[143]

When you read the descriptions/causes of their deaths, what more proof does one need?

[CJCRANE]

3. How many were killed by Chechen terrorists?

It seems like you're conflating different things.

[moondust]

4. Wow.

Somebody (outside Russia ) should do a study of these cases to determine if there is a pattern; specifically if very many of them wrote or published stuff "unsupportive" of Putin or the Kremlin.