URGENT ACTION

civil society activistS at risk IN SOUTH OSSETIA

Timur Tskhovrebov, an independent journalist and civil society activist, was attacked and badly beaten in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, a breakaway territory from Georgia. The attackers also issued threats against his colleague Maria Pliyeva. Both activists are currently outside South Ossetia, but their safety is at risk if they return.

Timur Tskhovrebovtold Amnesty International that on 24 July he was attacked in the centre of Tskhinvali by a group of up to 10 people, leaving him with a knife wound to the neck, a broken finger and injuries from punches to his face and body. He recognized his three main attackers, all of them members of the South Ossetian parliament.

Timur Tskhovrebov took refuge at the local office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), though initially he was denied entry by the office’s staff and had to climb over the fence. While he was doing so, one of his attackers threatened him with a gun. During the attack, the assailants also shouted threats addressed to Timur Tskhovrebov’s fellow journalist and civic activist Maria Pliyeva,promising that she “will be next”. Timur Tskhovrebov has since left South Ossetia and is now in hospital in the city of Vladikavkaz, in the Russian North Caucasus republic of North Ossetia, recovering from his injuries. Maria Pliyeva told Amnesty International that she has also fled South Ossetia in fear for her safety following this incident.

Timur Tskhovrebov and Maria Pliyeva believe that they are being targeted because of their independent journalism and civic activism, and both have previously received threats. In July 2010 Timur Tskhovrebov and Maria Pliyeva attended the Georgian-Ossetian Civic Forum, a meeting of activists from the region, in the Netherlands. They co-signed a document which calls on the parties of the Geneva talks on Georgia to ensure that the humanitarian needs of those affected by the 2008 Georgian-Russian war are addressed and free movement of people in the region is permitted. On 22 July, Boris Chochiev, a senior South Ossetian official, made a televised speech condemning this initiative as “traitorous” and “harmful to the position of the South Ossetian delegation at the Geneva talks”, and specifically named Timur Tskhovrebov as a South Ossetian participant in the Forum.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Ossetian, Russian or your own language:

• Calling on the de facto authorities in South Ossetia to take all necessary action to protect Timur Tskhovrebov and Maria Pliyeva upon their return to South Ossetia;

• Calling for a prompt, impartial and effective investigation into the attack on Timur Tskhovrebov irrespective of the status of his alleged attackers; and urging them to ensure that the perpetrators of this attack are brought to justice;

• Urging them to ensure freedom of expression in South Ossetia, including for people with dissenting political views.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 13 SEPTEMBER 2010 TO: