Russian editor threatened by government official in Instagram post
| Publisher | Article 19 |
| Publication Date | 9 January 2017 |
| Cite as | Article 19, Russian editor threatened by government official in Instagram post, 9 January 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5874f86c4.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
ARTICLE 19 submitted this alert to the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists:
On 4 January the Speaker of the Parliament of Chechnya, Magomed Daudov, published a post on Instagram calling for violence against "Shved", a clear reference to Grigory Shvedov, Editor-in-Chief of Caucasian Knot, an independent Russian news site that focuses on human rights violations and abuses of the rule of law across the Caucasus and Southern Russia.
The post, titled "How to untie the Caucasian Knot", is accompanied by a picture of a drooling dog, and calls "for a vet to pull out [Shved's] wisdom teeth and cut his tongue to size". Shvedov is called cowardly and repeatedly compared to a dog.
In an interview with Russian daily newspaper, Kommersant, Shvedov stated that he considered the threat to be "a reaction to our work in general", rather than in response to any specific article or investigation. Caucasian Knot's lawyers now plan to submit an official complaint to the Investigative Committee on charges of obstructing journalism (Article 144 of the Criminal Code).
