NUMBER OF SLAIN JOURNALISTS ROSE IN 1995.

Thirty-two journalists were killed in countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States this past year, said a statement by the Glasnost Defense Fund. Fifteen were killed in Russia — ten in Chechnya alone. The number of journalist fatalities this year was nearly twice as high as in 1994, when 18 journalists were killed. Journalists’ rights were violated most grossly in Russia and Tajikistan, said the Fund statement. Russian journalists have also been victims of gangland-style murders, such as the March 1 shooting death of Vladimir Listyev, a popular talk-show host who had been named to head state-run Ostankino television. The Glasnost Defense Fund was founded in 1991 to monitor and protect newly won press freedoms across the then-Soviet Union. (4)

Chechnya: Pro-Moscow Officials Disclose Military Atrocities.