A Statement of the Russian Union of Journalists
A STATEMENT
of the Russian Union of Journalists
Anna Politkovskaya, a special correspondent of newspaper "Novaya Gazeta", has been detained in Chechnya by the armed forced when carrying out her journalist work. We consider the detention of one of the best-known Russian journalists an extraordinary event, however, those in charge learned about it only after Politkovskaya’s colleagues "kicked up a fuss” and the Federal Security Service (FSB), which has recently been charged to control the anti-terrorist operation, had been claiming till the very last moment that it had no information about the incident.
It must be said that only last year Politkovskaya made 19 tours to Chechnya as a journalist. She was accredited at the administration of the Presidential aide in line the Regulation, which does not stipulate any “registration” at the press centre of the Joint Army Group, of which some officials accuse her. Moreover, the head of the press centre of the Group claimed in a TV interview that Politkovskaya had violated some “rules of behaviour of journalists” which were set by the military command. It is not clear what powers the military command used to set the rules and who granted them. By the way, the text of these rules has never been made available to the newspapers, sending their correspondents to North Caucasus.
The prosecutor’s office has already managed to state that it did not see any reason for intervention - as it could see no reason for intervention also in previous cases of detention of journalists by federal forces. There were fifteen such incidents last year, including the scandalous history concerning correspondent of Radio Svoboda Andrey Babitsky. The society has thus far not received a clear response to a single question about Babitsky’s case.
The Russian Union of Journalists insists on that the incident with Politkovskaya become the first exception to this rule.
Anna Politkovskaya is a prize winner of the highest award of the Russian Union of Journalists - "Russia's Golden Pen" - for the year 1999, and this year she already became a prize winner of the award "Journalists against Corruption", and of a special award "Good Heart", granted her for the work aimed at saving the house for the disabled in Grozny, and for protection of human rights in a combat zone. Virtually all of her writings stand outside politics and their particularly humanistic and touching approach is apparent, as is her authority in Chechnya, both among the civilians and the military.
We cannot but view the detention of Politkovskaya as a symbol of the attitude to the press and demonstrative defiance of the Law, and an attempt to replace the compliance with the Law with artificial "rules" and "concepts".
Chairman of the Russian Union of Journalists
V. Bogdanov
General Secretary
I.Jakovenko
Secretary, Chairman of the Committee for Protection of Freedom of Speech and Rights of Journalists
P. Gutiontov
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