New York, February 3, 2000 — Radio Free Europe /Radio Liberty (REF/RL) reported today that Andrei Babitsky, the Russian journalist detained by Russian military authorities in Chechnya since January 15, has been exchanged for three Russian prisoners of war held by Chechen rebels. The announcement was made by Russian presidential spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky. This action…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed by the recent arrest and detention of Andrei Babitsky, a 10-year veteran reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Russia. Babitsky had been covering the conflict in Chechnya from the capital city of Grozny until his disappearance on January 15. Despite initial claims denying any knowledge of his whereabouts, a spokesman for your government acknowledged on January 28 that Babitsky was being held in Chechnya by Russian authorities because he did not have proper accreditation to report from the war zone. At the same time, your government has yet to confirm or deny charges published by the Russian news agency Interfax that Babitsky was arrested for “participating in an armed group.”
New York, February 2, 2000 —Andrei Babitsky, the Russian journalist who was reported missing while covering the Chechnya conflict, is being held by Russian military authorities in a Russian-controlled area of Chechnya. Babitsky, a veteran correspondant with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has not been heard from since he called his wife Lyudmila Babitsky from Grozny…
New York, January 27, 2000 —The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a nonpartisan organization dedicated to safeguarding press freedom around the world, is gravely concerned with the recent disappearance of Russian journalist and 10-year veteran Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent, Andrei Babitsky. Babitsky, 36, well known for his critical reporting on Moscow’s military campaign in…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by the arrest of Vladivostok journalist Irina Grebneva, editor of the opposition weekly Arsenyevskiye Vesti. Grebneva was released today after a five-day detention imposed in retaliation for publishing telephone transcripts that appeared to implicate senior political figures in Primorye Territory in political corruption.
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about a series of recent attacks on journalists covering the conflict in Chechnya. Two Chechen cameramen have been killed in recent weeks, while a Russian reporter and a French photojournalist have disappeared.
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed by a murder attempt and series of death threats against Sergei Zhubinsky, a reporter with the privately-owned local XXI Vek television station in Achinsk, in the Krasnoyarsk region.
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by a recent series of attacks against correspondents from Radio Lemma in Vladivostok, as well as by efforts on the part of regional and municipal authorities to shut down the popular independent radio station.
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by official Russian, Dagestani, and Chechen efforts to restrict media coverage of the conflict in Dagestan. On August 17, the new Russian Ministry for the Press, Television and Radio Broadcasting, and Media Affairs issued a formal warning to Russia’s national television networks barring them from broadcasting interviews with any of the Islamist rebel leaders now waging a separatist war against Russia in the Caucasus region of Dagestan. The warning was delivered to ORT Russian Public TV, the All Russia State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company, Russian TV, NTV, and TV-6.