Activists, Reporters Imperiled in Russia

Russian leading human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina, who advocates for refugees, stands in her organization's office in Moscow, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006. Svetlana Gannushkina tops a list of 89 people a nationalist group has sentenced to death, calling for activists to take up arms and execute her and other friends of "alien" peoples. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel) (Mikhail Metzel - AP)

MOSCOW -- Internet postings are calling on Russian nationalists to kill government critics _ death lists that underscore the dangers journalists and rights activists face in Russia.

Svetlana Gannushkina, a refugee rights activist, tops a list of 89 people published by a radical nationalist group, the Russian Will, which has urged "patriots" to take up arms and execute her and other friends of "alien" peoples.

"Since there is nothing I can do in this situation, I try not think about it," the soft-spoken, 64-year-old Gannushkina said.

Slain investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya was on such a list, for her reporting on Chechnya and criticism of the Kremlin. Her slaying Saturday has cast a chill over human rights activists and journalists who criticize government policies and increasingly fear for their safety in a repressive climate.

Since President Vladimir Putin came to power nearly seven years ago, he has moved to silence critics, squeezing the opposition and tightening the screws on media critical of the Kremlin. He came under strong Western condemnation for a new law that severely limits the activities of non-governmental organizations.

Prosecutors have linked Politkovskaya's slaying to her award-winning reports, fearlessly uncovering human rights abuses by government troops in war-ravaged Chechnya. She had been listed as one of 63 "non-friends of Russia" by the nationalist group National Sovereign Party of Russia.

Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov, whose forces were accused of torture, abductions and murder by Politkovskaya, denied any role in her murder Wednesday.

Some colleagues have suggested Politkovskaya could have died at the hands of Russian nationalists at a time when xenophobia is growing and hate crimes take place almost daily. Rights activists complain the government is doing little to combat the alarming trend.

"I am horrified at what happened with Anya," said Gannushkina, using Politkovskaya's nickname. "Of course, I understand that considering what happened, we are all under the same threat."

Gannushkina said she first learned in August of the Web site calling for her to be killed as an "advocate of alien migrants." Other alleged enemies included journalist and commentator Yevgeniya Albats and veteran rights activist Sergei Kovalyov.

The site, http://www.russianwill.org , could not be accessed Wednesday. Gannushkina said it was shut down this week.

However, information on the targeted activists and journalists, including their phone numbers and addresses, has spread to numerous other nationalist sites and blogs and Gannushkina has received phone threats.