Yelena Maglevannaya (, born 15 December 1981) is a Russian free-lance journalist for the newspaper Svobodnoye Slovo, ''Free Speech'', in

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

. She requested a

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in May 2009. Maglevannaya has focused on cases of

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

against

Chechens The Chechens ( ; , , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kistin, Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian languages, Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus. ...

. Maglevannaya published an article of a Chechen

Zubayr Zubayraev Az Zubayr () is a city in and the capital of Al-Zubayr District, part of the Basra Governorate of Iraq. The city is just south of Basra. The name is also sometimes written Al Zubayr, Al Zubair, Az Zubair, Zubair, Zoubair, El Zubair, or Zobier. ...

(), detained in Volgograd since 2007, in Civitas.ru, Svobodnoye Slovo and later on the web page of the Islamic Committee of Russia. The article criticized the conditions and ill-treatments in prisons. On 18 February 2009, the administration of Volgograd set a suit against Maglevannaya for “honour and business reputation protection”, accusing her of spreading disinformation on torture of Mr. Zubayraev. Court of Volgograd ruled that Maglevannaya had spread false information, and ordered to pay 200,000 rubles (about 4,600 euros) as a compensation for moral damage to the administration of Volgograd prison colony LIU-15. Also, Maglevannaya has received a

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...

on the web site of a nationalist group Russian Nationwide Union. Maglevannaya claims that she was threatened to be sent to a

mental hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with ...

if she continued to write. In

, Maglevannaya has been supported by members of the "

Finnish-Russian Civic Forum Heidi Anneli Hautala (born 14 November 1955) is a Finnish politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Finland. She is a member of the Green League, part of the European Green Party. She is currently a Member of the European P ...

" (Finrosforum). In May 2009, Maglevannaya participated in a forum on

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

by Finrosforum in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and requested for a

a few days later. In 2010, she was granted political asylum in Finland.

References

External links

World Organisation Against Torture: Sentencing of Ms. Elena Maglevannaya
* Tlisova, Fatima.
The Cost of Truth: Russian Journalist Elena Maglevannaya's Story
" ''

Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is an American news media organization established in 2006 that sponsors independent reporting on global issues that other media outlets are less willing or able to undertake on their own. The center's go ...

''.
Svobodnoye Slovo (in russian)

Diary of Yelena Maglevannaya (in russian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maglevannaya, Yelena 1981 births Living people Russian women war correspondents 21st-century Russian journalists 21st-century Russian women journalists Russian activists Women in the Chechen wars 21st-century Russian writers 21st-century Russian women writers Russian war correspondents

See also

References

External links