Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) has issued a strong statement on the recent attacks on journalists in Russia, calling for a review of Russia ties.
“I am appalled by the savage attacks on Oleg Kashin and Anatoly Adamchuk,” Ros-Lehtinen, who is likely to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee come January, said in a statement.
“These most recent incidents remind us yet again how the Russian regime is willing to use brutal tactics such as beatings and murders to viciously silence those who struggle for human rights and rule of law in Russia,” she said.
Hold the phone … alhtough while any international attention to the safety of journalists and freedom of expression in Russia is much needed and welcome, to say that Kashin was beat up because he struggled for “human rights and rule of law” is a needless exaggeration. Oleg Kashin is currently fighting for his life not because he was an outspoken opponent of the Putin regime, but rather for simply doing his job as a good reporter, asking tough questions of all sides. If anything, the fact that a person of Kashin’s profile can fall victim to such a savage attack (and likely without consequences) makes this awful crime so much more illustrative of the indiscriminate nature of system.
Ros-Lehtinen continued:
“Such attacks, and even murders, against journalists and human rights activists have become commonplace across Russia under the regime of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. Russian officials and police rarely investigate such cases properly or bring the responsible parties to justice.”
Well she is right on the money with that one.