Scotland: Vigil in memory of Anna Polikovskaya at Russian consulate

A vigil was held today (24 Oct) outside the Russian consulate in Edinburgh in memory of Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya. The vigil, arranged by Amnesty International, also involved handing in a letter to the Consul-General asking for a thorough investigation into her death.

As people throughout the world mourn the shocking death of investigative Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, Amnesty International called on concerned citizens, especially journalists and authors, to gather for a silent vigil in her memory.

Amnesty were joined by a crowd of concerned individuals from all walks of life and representatives from organizations including Scottish Pen, Reporters without Borders,The Poetry Association of Scotland, Shore Poets, StAnza – Scotland’s Poetry Festival, the NUJ, the Scottish Group of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, the Scottish Poetry Library, and Leith SNP.

Amnesty International’s Programme Director, Rosemary Burnett said:

“We were saddened to learn of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya. She was an inspiration and a tireless human rights campaigner.”

"President Putin must show unequivocal commitment to protecting the rights if independent media and NGOs in Russia. Without President Putin's personal commitment little will change.”

Amnesty International was shocked and appalled at the murder of Ms Politkovskaya on 7 October and the organisation believes that she was in all likelihood targeted because of her work as a journalist, not least reporting on human rights abuses in Chechnya.

Amnesty International has also noted that President Putin has stated that all necessary measures will be taken to investigate Anna Politkovskaya’s murder, and that the President and Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic have spoken out against her murder.

Anna spoke movingly at the Edinburgh International Book Festival last year about her work investigating crimes in Chechnya and she was an inspiration to many.