Chechen journalist Musa Muradov honored with CPJ's 2003 International Press Freedom AwardThe Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has honored four journalists — from Afghanistan, Russia, Morocco, and Cuba — with the 2003 International Press Freedom Awards.
"Abdul Samay Hamed (Afghanistan), Aboubakr Jamai (Morocco), Musa Muradov (Russia), and Manuel Vázquez Portal (Cuba) have suffered serious reprisals for daring to report with independence and authority in countries where dissent is not easily tolerated," CPJ stated.
The awards were presented at a dinner ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City on Tuesday, November 25.
One of the awarded journalists is Chechen Musa Muradov, the editor-in-chief of Chechnya's weekly Groznensky Rabochy.
Following is CPJ's background information on Muradov:
Musa Muradov is the editor-in-chief of Chechnya's only truly independent publication, the weekly Groznensky Rabochy. Muradov has been repeatedly harassed and threatened by both Russian federal authorities and by Chechen rebels because he refuses to allow Groznensky Rabochy to become a mouthpiece for either side in the ongoing civil conflict. In 1996, one of Muradov's reporters was killed in crossfire, and Muradov himself was trapped in a basement for 14 days because of the intense shelling of the capital, Grozny. In 1999, another reporter was killed and a bomb destroyed the paper's editorial offices, forcing Muradov to flee Chechnya. He continues to edit the weekly from Moscow and distribute it in Chechnya despite increased government restrictions on media coverage of the conflict.
Prague Watchdog recommends you to read an interview with Muradov.
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