DATE=2/4/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA / JOURNALIST (L)
NUMBER=2-258823
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian television has broadcast pictures of a
controversial exchange in which a Radio Liberty
journalist arrested in Chechnya was apparently handed
over to rebels in a swap for Russian soldiers. But as
V-O-A's Peter Heinlein reports from Moscow, the
journalist has not turned up, and Radio Liberty
officials are questioning the authenticity of the
television pictures.
TEXT: A brief, edited video segment shot by Russia's
Federal Security Service shows journalist Andrei
Babitsky walking along a road in the company of
soldiers. Then for a brief second, a masked man
appears and grabs Mr. Babitsky by the arm. The camera
then moves quickly to some Russian soldiers the
Chechen rebels are said to have handed over in
exchange for the journalist.
Russian officials say the exchange absolves them of
all responsibility for the fate of Mr. Babitsky, who
was arrested three weeks ago while on a reporting trip
inside Chechnya.
But officials of the U-S government-funded Radio
Liberty say they have looked at the tape of the
handover carefully, and they believe it is a fake.
Radio Liberty's Moscow bureau chief, Savik Shuster,
saw an unedited version of the tape, rather than what
was shown on television
/// SHUSTER ACT ONE ///
The first thing that is very suspicious is that
the Chechen field commanders wear masks. They
never do usually. They are very proud to show
their faces. In general, it is not a habit of
Islamic resistancers to wear masks.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Shuster says an analysis of the raw video leads to
suspicions that the scene of the soldiers being
returned, and the pictures of Mr. Babitsky's handover,
were shot at different times.
/// SHUSTER ACT TWO ///
So all of that makes me think that it's a fake.
And I am very worried about Babitsky's fate. I
fear that he is not alive.
/// END ACT ///
A rebel website on the Internet quotes senior Chechen
officials as saying they had no information about an
exchange. They say they have never heard of the rebel
commander named by Russian officials as initiating the
swap.
Radio Liberty's Savik Shuster says if the swap had
taken place, he is sure Mr. Babitsky would have
immediately called Moscow.
/// SHUSTER ACT THREE ///
I know that Andrei, if he were handed over to
the Chechen field commanders as the federal
government is stating, the first thing he would
do, he would look for a telephone to go live and
tell us the story on the radio. That's the
first thing he would do. The fact that we don't
hear from him for 24 hours makes me think the
worst.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Babitsky's wife and his lawyer also expressed
concern for his fate. Furthermore, the Union of
Russian Journalists said (Friday) it doubts the
correspondent would voluntarily agree to a swap.
The exchange also appeared to shock Russia's media,
which has been largely supportive of the war. The
Segodnya daily newspaper Friday accused authorities of
passing sentence on the reporter without a trial,
thereby silencing the press. The Segodnya article
concluded by asking, "What secrets does this
journalist know? (Signed)
NEB/PFH/JWH/ENE/WTW
04-Feb-2000 11:55 AM EDT (04-Feb-2000 1655 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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