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Anti-Government Webmaster Shot Dead By Russian Police
Posted by
kdawson
on Sun Aug 31, 2008 11:47 PM
from the not-just-journalists dept.
from the not-just-journalists dept.
J.Tatar and a number of other readers alert us to the shooting death of an anti-government webmaster while in police custody in Ingushetiya, a volatile province in southern Russia. Police took Ingushetiya.ru owner Magomed Yevloyev off a plane that had just landed in Ingushetiya. "Yevloyev ... was a prominent opponent of the pro-Kremlin president of Ingushetia, Murat Zyazikov [a close ally of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin]. Prosecutors have opened a preliminary manslaughter investigation after Yevloyev was shot in a police car in Narzan, the capital of volatile Ingushetia, a mostly Muslim region that borders Chechnya, Russian media reported. A spokesman for the prosecutor's office, Vladimir Markin, said 'an incident' took place after Yevloyev was taken into a police car 'resulting in a shooting injury to the head and he later died in hospital,' Interfax reported."
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Submission: Russian Policy: Murder troublesome Web-site owners by Anonymous Coward
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'The shooting injury' (Score:5, Insightful)
Realize that Magomed was shot in the temple, that's a guaranteed way to kill someone. It was no accident, it was premeditated.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
the temple houses the reason center of the brain, the guaranteed kill is actually behind the ear, where the primitive autonomic systems rest.
Re:'The shooting injury' (Score:5, Interesting)
Magomed was arrested by some police forces of Nazran (capital of republic Ingushetia, Russia), he was taken away by a number of people, there were multiple police cars who participated in arrest. Later Magomed was found shot in the temple. The arrest was made after Magomed got off of an airplane. The airplane had president of Ingushetia, Murat Ziazikov on it as well. There was a group of cars belonging to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic in the airport, Magomed was arrested and put into one of the cars, half of the group has left and after this Magomed was killed. People were expecting him to get off the airplane and then killed him. Given the kind of people we are talking about, this was a premeditated murder.
Parent
It was an accident (Score:5, Funny)
The officer just tended to emphasize things by pointing his pistol and the roads around there are very bumpy. Complete and unfortunant chance. Could happen to anybody.
Haven't you ever seen Pulp Fiction?
Re:It was an accident (Score:5, Funny)
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Why the irrelevant factoid... (Score:5, Interesting)
Why is it relevant that Ingushetiya is mostly Muslim? What does that irrelevant factoid have to do with this news?
The only thing that I fear it is relevant for, is for the inevitable Kremlin propaganda offensive to paint themselves as defenders against the Muslim barbarians. A tactic that worked very well to get the Chechnyan separatists out of the Western news and gave Russia a free hand to do whatever they wanted in Chechnya.
Obligatory disclaimer: the Chechnyan separatists were bastards. That does not wipe out the strong suspicion that Russia played on fears of Muslim terrorism in the West for propaganda purposes.
Mart
In Soviet Russia... (Score:5, Funny)
they are baaaaaack! (Score:5, Insightful)
There was Putin and his public dislike of all things US. The radioactive poisoning. Some FBI link to a SPAMMER inside of Russia but Putins government would not let US prosecutors go after them. The election where Putin creates a seat so he's still on top. More anti-US rhetoric. And more recently the Georgia incident where Putin is the one in the press on the first and second day. After that it is the acting President but it was pretty obvious Putin is da man.
Now a hole in the head of a webmaster while INSIDE a Police car. It all sounds like the old USSR and KGB era tactics to me. Well, it was good for some while it lasted. IMO
LoB
Democracy and the Russians.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, we should count ourselves lucky that we have free speech. Obviously, the poor bastard who was running that Anti-Kremlin website, is now going to be a martyr to the cause of free speech, being a casualty of it.
I feel for those russians who know there is a better way of life, but are stuck in this transitory stage where many of them are forced to co-exist with the "old school" russian way of thinking.
Anyways, it is always sad to read news such as this.
where are the apologists? (Score:5, Interesting)
those who say invading georgia is like the usa invading iraq?
where are those who say russia's invasion of georgia is the usa's fault?
it's all morally relative, right? we have to let russia do anything they damn well please, because the usa did something bad once, right?
i have a crazy idea: why can't we condemn them both?
why can't you condemn the usa, AND condemn russia?
given that, with all of the vitriol some of you found to fling at washington dc in recent years, why can't you fling some of that now at moscow?
or do crimes of war only stick to the west?
are you motivated by principles? or some weird geopolitical vendetta? (and therefore, part of the problem)
if you are motivation by principles, you must condemn russia now as hard as you condemn the usa
fight imperialism, wherever the fount
This is strange (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:This is strange (Score:5, Insightful)
Or, maybe its just 20+ years later and we have stuff like the Internet, and countless mobile phones... if it wasnt for the internet, would you have heard of this? Is it in your local paper? Is it on your local news?
Parent
Do jump to conclusions (Score:5, Interesting)
We don't know what happened, as nerds we should wait for more information instead of jumping to conclusions.
You're plain wrong, and just silly. The exact design of this assassination is:
You know exactly what happened, and that we can get away with it. Fear that.
Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Interesting)
-1 naive
While it looks suspicious, and certainly goes along with the current wave of anti-Russian sentiment, I have to agree with the GP - let's wait for more information instead of jumping to conclusions.
While a Slashdot thread has a minor effect on overall public opinion, every single increment brings us closer to "accepting the inevitability" of an actual conflict with Russia - something which Bush and Putin would both seem to benefit from wrt power consolidation.
We're geeks, we have brains if we choose to use them - we can do better [metagovernment.org]. And yes, I am new here.
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Funny)
Godwined in the first three sets of page down comments. I'm not sure if that's a record but it's damned close.
Err... Well played my good sir?
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Insightful)
"Yes, Georgians did attack"
Well, not quite [michaeltotten.com]. The separatists and russian troops combined an attack on the 6th of august, and this is what the Georgian troops reacted to by going through Tskhinvali.
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:4, Interesting)
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:4, Insightful)
Maybe what Russia is doing is wrong on some ethical level. But it sure as hell is no worse than the US, so get of your high horse.
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:4, Insightful)
There is information circulating - in Russian, so I doubt it is of any use to quote here - Russian radiostation Echo Moskvi interviews - that Russia was preparing for the war for quite some time and trying to edge Georgia towards doing something that could lead to invasion.
At any rate, the probable truth is this:
- there have been tensions between Ossetian region and Georgia for quite some time, blood feuds and what not;
- it is conceivable that Georgian behaviour towards Ossetian inhabitants where they had power was as bad as Ossetian towards Georgian. This could be related to the old grudges when Georgians had to flee Ossetian territories earlier.
[You know a good old blood feud when you hear about atrocities commited from both sides and nobody can make neither head nor tail of it.]
- Georgian current president has been pro-West oriented, and plans were underway for making an oil pipeline through Georgia that would bypass Russia.
So, essentially what we have here seems to be Russia trying to prevent Georgia from supplying West with oil by egging on old feuds in the region.
As regards support for Ossetian independence - it is probably a good move. One can only wonder why did Russia went to war TWICE with Chechnya recently, in order to PREVENT their independence though.
Parent
Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:4, Insightful)
As opposed to the US which has a highly organized military that is heavily dependent on the drip-feeding of massive quantities of tax dollars that are fast becoming scarcer and scarcer, fed to it by a government that is now so deep in debt that it it unlikely that anyone alive today will ever see it balance.
If you ask me, Russia has a greater capacity to wage war than the US currently, after when you factor in the miserable state of US government financial conditions and the world at large's hostility towards US military adventurism.
Parent
Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Informative)
Some facts to make you feel less comfortable spouting patriottic nonsense:
1) You're wrong [cia.gov]. The US is #26 in debt with 60% GDP. Some european countries are worse (eg belgium at 85%, france at 64), some are much better (eg holland at 46%, UK at 43%, spain at 35%).
2) US citizens don't save money, but are in debt themselves (eg creditcards). This means that most of the US debt is in the hands of foreign countries or nationals, while a large part of the european public debts is in European hands since europeans save a lot more.
3) The US imports way more than it exports [imf.org] (currently, the trade deficit is 600 billion (!), down from 800 due to the extremely weak dollar). Since these goods have to be bought capital flows out (eg to gulf states for buying oil). This capital flows back in the form of investments in US companies. This sounds good, but what it means is that you are selling Americal companies to foreigners to pay for your consumption. The EU countries generally have trade balance or surplus
Parent
Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, because police shoot people in the head (who they already have in their custody and in a police car) all the time. It just happens... right. I'm sure it's not just because he was stirring up unrest against the Russian government.
Maybe an alien had taken him over and they were killing it. Got any other alternate theories?
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Funny)
Suicide.
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:4, Insightful)
Better yet, suicide by cop. Instant martyr and story on /.
The odds are that we will never know the truth. If we do, there will always be some doubt.
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Insightful)
The odds are that we will never know the truth. If we do, there will always be some doubt.
Unfortunately this is something people can count on often. Corrupt officials use this as the perfect getaway. Not that i know what really happened here, i just want to comment on how often something ends like that.
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Re:Unlikely (Score:5, Funny)
Given, however, that the incident occurred in a Muslim area, finding such a temple seems unlikely...
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Funny)
"What did the Alabama patrolman say in regards to the black man found shot 16 times in the back? Worst case of suicide he'd ever seen."
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Insightful)
Got any other alternate theories?
Yes, the Kremlin is hard at work on another Soviet Union. Oh, and your votes count so long as your voting for the right people. If you don't, they will paint a nice red picasso with your brain matter.
Does that about sum it up?
Parent
More Information about This Brutal Murder (Score:5, Informative)
For additional information about this heinous crime, read the report [telegraph.co.uk] just issued by the "Daily Telegraph" (DT). According to the DT, "Mr Yevloyev is the most prominent anti-Kremlin journalist to be killed since Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in the lift of her apartment block in October 2006. ... Russia is considered to be one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists."
The "Wall Street Journal" provides more information [wsj.com] about this and other suspicious deaths of well-known journalists. According to the WSJ, "Mr. Yevloyev was the latest in a series of Russian journalists to have died in suspicious circumstances. The death of Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot in October 2006 at her Moscow apartment, highlighted the dangers faced by Russia's independent press. Ms. Politkovskaya was a lead reporter at Novaya Gazeta, a Moscow-based newspaper that specializes in muckraking and probes of government corruption. She was the third journalist at the paper to die under mysterious circumstances. Paul Klebnikov, editor of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, was shot on a Moscow street in July 2004."
After I read these news articles, I could think of only 4 words: God damn the Kremlin!
Parent
Citation needed (Score:5, Informative)
Where in the article does it say that the murderers were "under direct orders from the Kremlin"? As far as I can make out, these were local cops who acted under the orders of the provincial governor Zyazikov - the main target of Yevloyev's criticisms.
Parent
Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Funny)
Got any other alternate theories?
John Travolta was leaning over the back seat, gun casually dangling from his hand while he debated philosophy with the prisoner. Driver hit a speed bump, finger squeezed the trigger and before you know it Yevloyev's head is all over the back window.
Complete accident!
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Informative)
[for an unspecified reason]
A BBC article [bbc.co.uk] on this says:
Reports quoting local police said Yevloyev had tried to seize a policeman's gun when he was being led to a vehicle. A shot was fired and Yevloyev was injured in the head.
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Informative)
"As they drove he was shot in the temple
Sounds pretty conclusive to me. The last time I shot someone in the head "accidentally" with my gun, I also threw him out of the car because I was "careless". Wake up.
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Insightful)
You are correct. He was eliminated for his views on the Ingushetian provincial government - specifically, for his views on Ingushetia's governor Zyazikov, whose policies have brought the province to the brink (some say over the brink) of civil war. It is a great mystery just why the Kremlin continues to support Ingushetia's current administration.
Sometimes, the federal government has to give its support to a competent, but thuggish, local administration in order to restore order and peace (see Chechnya for an example). But if the thuggish local administration is failing to do its job, why the hell is it still being propped up?
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Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe the police officer's was Dick Cheney's evil Russian twin. You know, accidently shooting folks in the head ;)
Ahh, what am I thinking, Dick Cheney IS the evil twin.
Parent
look to the past (Score:5, Insightful)
If you heard a report back in 2000 that Saddam Hussein had had yet another person killed, you'd think it was just par for the course. If rumor was that Bush allowed another fat-cat single-source contracting deal with his friends, you'd think it was probably true. Why? Because it falls in with that person's modus operandi.
Putin's Russia has been a very dangerous place for anyone who has opposed him, or even tried to investigate what was happening under him. Many are dead, exiled or in jail. So while I won't automatically put this in the "It's true" category, it does belong firmly in "Most likely true."
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Wow, this is the only "in Soviet Russia" joke I see right now, and it showed up about a half hour after the story was posted. Does this indicate progress for Slashdot or Slashdot's further decline?
Re:Don't jump to conclusions (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Paging Yakov Smirnoff (Score:4, Funny)
"You have such nice things in the U.S...like warning shots!"
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Re:Same old Russia (Score:4, Insightful)
They are a third world nation with first world aspirations, but they can't seem to get it right. How long before we get back to the old USSR? I'd guess sooner rather than later. Problem this time is, the US and Europe aren't going to let Russia roll their tanks into every Eastern European nation bulldozing their people into submission. Fool us once...
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Re:Same old Russia (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course we will. You don't see any U.S. peacekeepers on their way to Georgia, do you? Well, except maybe for the other Georgia just in case the hurricane goes four or five hundred miles to the east before it makes landfall, that is.... :-)
Okay, to be fair, if they start to encroach on Georgia's oil fields, the U.S. might get involved. The rest of those former Soviet states, though---the ones who aren't sitting on oil---I think it's safe to say they're on their own. I'm not saying it's right; I'm just saying that if you think the current U.S. government is going to lift a finger to help anybody without it being for their own significant political gain, you've clearly been living under a rock the last eight years.
Bush Presidency Countdown Clock [about.com]
Fool me... you can't get fooled again....
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Thank god we are slighlty less storm trooperish here than in Russia.....for now