The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday urging Russia to continue the inquiry into the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov, RIA Novosti news agency reports.
"The House of Representatives ... urges the Government of Russia to take appropriate action to protect the independence and freedom of the Russian media and all visiting members of the media. A group of U.S. investigative journalists ... has launched its own inquiry into the death of Mr. Klebnikov", the House resolution said.
"Repression of free speech in Russia has engendered the belief that journalists can be intimidated and killed with impunity," the House said, adding that it "commends all journalists working and living in Russia for their courageous dedication to transparency and the truth."
This is the second call by U.S. officials urging that killers of the editor of Forbes Russia Magazine should be found. On the 6 May, the day after a Russian court had acquitted three defendants, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack urged the Russian authorities to find and prosecute all those responsible for the murder and offered US assistance in the investigation.
A majority jury verdict at a Moscow court on May 5 acquitted three ethnic Chechens charged with murdering Klebnikov, former editor of Forbes Russia magazine, in July 2004. Prosecutors have filed an appeal against the ruling, citing major trial violations.
Prosecutors say Klebnikov was killed on the orders of Chechen businessman Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev, who wanted revenge after the journalist wrote a critical book "Conversations with a Barbarian" with Nukhaev as the central figure.
On Tuesday Klebnikov’s family said they supported the decision by the Prosecutor General’s Office to challenge the acquittal.
"We learned about certain troubling details of the trial. Our lawyers told us that in their opinion there had been numerous violations of procedure during the trial", an official statement of the Klebnikov family received by Interfax on Tuesday said.
Klebnikov had worked for Forbes since 1989, and had gained a reputation for investigating murky post-Soviet business dealings and corruption.
