By Jamie Glazov
Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Yelena Maglevannaya, a journalist from Volgograd, who has asked for political asylum in Finland earlier this month. She risks persecution in Russia because of her writing about tortures of Chechens in Russian prisons. She also campaigned in defense of political prisoners such as Mikhail Trepashkin, demanded repeal of July 2006 laws which enable the Kremlin to assassinate enemies of Russia, and ran a web-site dedicated to the memory of Alexander Litvinenko.
FP: Yelena Maglevannaya, welcome to Frontpage Interview.
Maglevannaya: Thank you.
FP: Tell about the events which have led to your flight.
Maglevannaya: The main reason why I decided to leave Russia was the threat to my liberty, and possibly even life, in case I would have stayed there. The authorities were about to fabricate criminal charges against me, since I refused to obey the unfair court decision - to publish a refutation of my articles and to pay 'libel damages' to the prison-guards. In addition, I received threats from nationalist organizations, as I was defending the rights of Chechens - 'enemies of Russia'. The FSB repeatedly summoned me for 'interviews' and warned me that I would be in big trouble unless I stop doing that. All that combined has led me to this decision. Read more ...
Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Yelena Maglevannaya, a journalist from Volgograd, who has asked for political asylum in Finland earlier this month. She risks persecution in Russia because of her writing about tortures of Chechens in Russian prisons. She also campaigned in defense of political prisoners such as Mikhail Trepashkin, demanded repeal of July 2006 laws which enable the Kremlin to assassinate enemies of Russia, and ran a web-site dedicated to the memory of Alexander Litvinenko.
FP: Yelena Maglevannaya, welcome to Frontpage Interview.
Maglevannaya: Thank you.
FP: Tell about the events which have led to your flight.
Maglevannaya: The main reason why I decided to leave Russia was the threat to my liberty, and possibly even life, in case I would have stayed there. The authorities were about to fabricate criminal charges against me, since I refused to obey the unfair court decision - to publish a refutation of my articles and to pay 'libel damages' to the prison-guards. In addition, I received threats from nationalist organizations, as I was defending the rights of Chechens - 'enemies of Russia'. The FSB repeatedly summoned me for 'interviews' and warned me that I would be in big trouble unless I stop doing that. All that combined has led me to this decision. Read more ...
Source: FPM
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