The Russian Public Chamber has prepared recommendations for parliament and the police on the improved protection of journalists.
It said in a statement that over 100 cases of "interference" with the work of journalists had been registered in October 2010, including "threats" and "attempts at censorship".
As well as parliament and the Interior Ministry, the recommendations will be forwarded to the Prosecutor's Office, regional authorities and the country's human rights ombudsman.
The recommendations come in the wake of a media and public outcry over a brutal attack on Oleg Kashin, a journalist with the Russian business daily Kommersant.
Kashin was severely beaten near his house in Moscow on November 6. He suffered severe head and leg injuries and remained in an induced coma for several days.
There have been scores of unsolved killings of reporters in Russia in recent years, including that of Anna Politkovskaya, a fierce Kremlin critic, who was shot dead in her apartment block four years ago.
"Unfortunately, Russia is a leader in the number of attacks on journalists," the Public Chamber said, stressing that regional journalists are in even more danger than their colleagues in Moscow.
The Public Chamber has recommended that the Prosecutor's Office check the effectiveness of investigations into attacks on journalists. Law enforcement agencies have been advised to investigate such cases immediately and inform the public about the investigation results.
Regional authorities and heads of local law enforcement agencies should organize briefings for journalists four times a year to inform them about the results of investigations into cases of media freedom abuse, the statement said.
The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, has been urged to introduce amendments to the article of the Criminal Code on the protection of journalists by making clear the concept of "professional journalist activities."
MOSCOW, November 18 (RIA Novosti)
