Ramzan Mezhidov

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Ramzan Mezhidov, 32, was a freelance cameraman working for the Moscow-based Centre TV.

On October 29, 1999, together with Shamil Gigayev, a cameraman for independent Nokh Cho television in Grozny, he was killed during a Russian air strike on refugees fleeing Chechnya. The journalists were covering a refugee convoy en route, along the Baku-Rostov highway, from Grozny to Nazran in neighboring Ingushetia. As the convoy approached the Chechen town of Shaami Yurt, a Russian fighter bomber fired several rockets from the air, hitting a busload of refugees. Despite warnings from colleagues traveling with them, Mezhidov and Gigayev left their vehicle to film the carnage. As they approached the bus, another Russian rocket hit a nearby truck, fatally wounding both journalists. [1]

The Russian air force pilot reportedly saw Mezhidov with a television camera and fired at him. [2] It is unclear whether the soldier who shot him on the aircraft's second run believed his camera to be a weapon, or was trying to prevent him from filming. Mezhidov was not killed immediately but, along with the other wounded and dead, was left on the road. He was eventually taken to hospital in Urus-Martan where, suffering from shock and blood loss, he died.

Before working for Centre TV, Mezhidov had worked as a freelance for ARD between the Chechen conflicts. During the First Chechen War, Mezhidov had been a valuable asset to Centre TV throughout the Northern Caucasus, particularly in the Republic of Dagestan until returning to Chechnya after the arrival of the Russian troops. [3]