Akhmednabi Akhmednabiev

Akhmednabi Omardibirovich Akhmednabiyev (; 29 December 1958 – 9 July 2013) was a Russian journalist. He was the deputy editor of the independent news outlet Novoye Delo (translated "New Business"). On 9 July 2013 at 7 a.m. Akhmednabiyev was shot outside his house in the Semender suburb of Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia after his name was added to a hit list for being critical of local law enforcement, speaking out on human rights and abuse, and defending Muslims.

Personal Before becoming a journalist, Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev spent his time in the medical field. After being trained as a doctor, Akhmednabiyev qualified as a cardiologist. He practiced medicine in Karata, his native village, before moving to Dagestan. Founded in the 1990s, "Novoye Delo" is highly respected by Dagestanis because of its political attitude and its criticism of authorities.

Akhmednabiyev survived a previous attempt on his life after assailants fired guns at him as they drove past his home on January 11, 2013. Those who wrote the list demanded revenge for the deaths of Russian police officers. Although authorities have never uncovered the authors of the list, rumors spread that the list was written by relatives of Dagestani police officers killed by members of extremist religious groups.

According to one of Akhmednabiyev's colleagues at his publication, Akhmednabiyev's name was on the list because he was critical of law enforcement officials in his articles and the people who made the list assumed he was part of a religious group because he often defended Dagestan's Muslim population.

Impact Akhmednabiyev's death is one of the latest examples of the dangers Russian journalists face when speaking out on human rights. As a result, journalists will now have to self-censor their work more closely.

Ambassador Ian Kelly currently serves as the United States representative to the OSCE. On July 11, 2013, Ambassador Kelly addressed the Permanent Council, one of the main regular decision-making bodies of the OSCE, at its weekly meeting in Vienna. In his statement, Ambassador Kelly noted that the United States strongly condemns the assassination of Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev. He also made note that the United States remains deeply concerned with the attacks in the Russian Federation made against journalists.

Both Mijatović and Kelly echoed praise for a statement made by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, who said an investigation of Akhmednabiyev's murder would be handled with the highest priority.