The following is a translation of an article which appeared last week in Spain’s leading newspaper, El País, coinciding with the anniversary of the death of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The original article can be read here. Russia’s Growing Impunity to Kill and Intimidate Journalists Pressures, boycotts, threats, torture and including death: this is what critical journalists in Russia expect. NGOs and experts criticize the silence of the West before this violation of human rights Juan Carlos Galindo, Madrid, Oct. 4, 2008 Magomed Yevloyev died in Ingushetia on August 31st after receiving a shot to the head while he was in police custody. Telman Alishayev, a broadcast reporter for Islamic TV in Dagestan, died one day later not very far from there, after being shot while in his car. On this same day, MIlosav Bitokov, editor of a weekly in the south of Russia, was beaten close to his home and checked into a hospital with various broken bones and grave wounds. Also at the end of August, Zurab Tsechoyev, editor of the human rights web site Mashr, was kidnapped and tortured for hours by the Russian security forces. A few weeks before, Roza Malsagova flew all the way to Paris with her three children to seek asylum after she suffered harassment and threats. The list could go on for many more paragraphs. All of them were journalists and all have suffered this violence before the indifference of silence of the European Union and Western governments. They have all paid, some with their lives, for their criticism of the Russian government and the zero respect for liberties and human rights shown by Vladimir Putin and his successor Dmitry Medvedev.