Raw in War :: rawinwar.org - Letters to the Telegraph Anna Politkovskaya Award 2008

Sir – Today marks the second anniversary of the murder of the Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

We the undersigned are all supporters of the human rights organisation RAW in WAR (Reach All Women in War). Yesterday we presented the annual Anna Politkovskaya Award, set up to recognise women defending human rights in zones of war and conflict, to Malalai Joya from Afghanistan. She lives a life of courage in the face of grave danger, just as Anna did.

We call again on the Russian government to bring to justice both those who killed Anna Politkovskaya and those who ordered her murder. Despite an announcement in June 2008 by the office of the General Prosecutor in Russia that the investigation had concluded and charges brought against several suspects, two years on, justice has not been done.

We also call on the world’s leaders to pledge to do everything in their power to protect the journalists and human rights defenders who work in areas of war and conflict.

We owe it to Anna’s memory to protect the few who still speak out, on behalf of those to whom nobody wants to listen.

Mairead Maguire, Betty Williams, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Elena Bonner, Tatiana Yankelevich, Vladimir Bukovsky, Andre Glucksmann, Gloria Steinem, Sergey Kovalyov, Alexei Simonov, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Gillian Slovo, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Harold Pinter, President Vaclav Havel, Adam Michnik, Elisabeth Rehn, The Hon. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Mariane Pearl, Asma Jahangir, Terry Waite, Hina Jilani, Susan Sarandon, Jane Birkin, Sussan Deyhim, Sophie Shihab, Naomi Klein, Sister Helen Prejean, Ariel Dorfman, Vanessa Redgrave, Eve Ensler, Michael Cunningham, James Lecesne, John Sweeney, Jonathan Schell, Naom Chomsky, Marina Litvinenko, Heidi Bradner, Lyudmila Alekseeva, Desmond O'Malley, Anne Nivat, Marek Edelman, Victor Fainberg, Lord Frank Judd, Lord Nicolas Rea, Lord Anthony Gidden,s Lord Nazir Ahmed ,Baroness Shirley Williams, Baroness Molly Meacher, Baroness Vivien Stern, Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC, Professor Yakin Erturk, Elena Kudimova, Tom Stoppard, Yuz Aleshkovsky, Natasha Kandic ,Sister Marya Grathwohl, Meglena Kuneva, Stina Scott, Esther Chavez, Anna Stavitskaya, John D. Panitza, Dubravka Ugresic, Katrina vanden Heuvel, Victor Navasky, Aidan White ,Caroline McCormick, Holly Near, Elizabeth Frank, Elizabeth Kostova, Zoe Sallis-Huston ,Denise LeBoeuf, Julian Popov, Oleg Panfilov ,Stefan Tafrov, Tsvetana Maneva, Mihail Simeonov, Susan Allee, Edward Friedman, Arlene Lederman ,Bill Bowring, Amanda Sebestyen, Olga Konskaya ,Andrey Nekrasov, Irena Grudzinska Gross, Cal Skaggs, Laura Flanders, Elena Cook, Martin Dewhirst, Zoya Grannes, Elena Jandova, Marta Coigney, Jenny Diski, Monica Ali ,Isa Blyden, Nayereh Tohidi, Claire Bertschinger, Georgi Borissov, Vanora Bennett, Eva Hoffman, Jon Snow ,Azar Nafisi ,Decca Aitkenhead ,James Meek, Zoya Svetova, Mara Polyakova ,Dmitriy Muratov

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?menuId=1588&menuItemId=-1&view=DISPLAYCONTENT&grid=A1&targetRule=0#head2