DATE=6/22/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / MEDIA (L-O)
NUMBER=2-263648
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian authorities are continuing their
investigation of Radio Liberty reporter Andrei
Babitsky, who was best known for his reports about the
conflict in Chechnya. Moscow Correspondent Eve Conant
reports his case - and the arrest of another top media
figure - have added to growing concern about press
freedom in Russia.
TEXT: Reporter Andrei Babitsky told a news conference
that an investigation into his alleged forging of
documents has been extended for a third time. He also
said he is being blocked from receiving identification
documents that would allow him to leave Moscow.
Mr. Babitsky was arrested in Chechnya earlier this
year and spent several weeks in the notorious
Chernokozovo detention center. He is well known for
his investigative, hard-hitting reporting from behind
rebel lines in Chechnya. His reports on U-S supported
Radio Liberty have aggravated Kremlin authorities who
have branded him in the past as - anti-Russian.
/// BABITSKY ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///
Mr. Babitsky tells reporters he is quite sure his case
- in his words - was supervised, and instructions to
deport me from Russia, were issued by Vladimir Putin -
who was acting president at the time.
Although the opinions Mr. Babitsky expresses are his
own, there is mounting concern that the new Putin
administration is ready to crack down in one form or
another on perceived dissent.
Mr. Babitsky's lawyer, Genri Reznik, told a news
conference that authorities have made it impossible
for his client to get new identification documents
necessary for him to travel and work freely.
/// REZNIK ACT ONE - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///
Mr. Reznik says he believes Russian authorities are
committing a crime - obstructing a journalist's work.
He says there is no other explanation for what he
calls - the arbitrariness of the denial of issuing him
a passport. He says it is obvious Russian authorities
believe Mr. Babitsky's work as a reporter presents a
danger.
/// OPT /// Mr. Reznik says he will open a criminal
case against authorities for obstructing Mr.
Babitsky's reporting. He says it is possible that
Russian authorities are moving so slowly in their
investigation in the hope that the public will slowly
forget Mr. Babitsky's predicament. /// END OPT ///
There also is the case of another of Mr. Reznik's
clients - media tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky - who spent
several days in jail last week before being formally
charged with large-scale fraud.
Mr. Gusinsky is head of a media empire that includes
Russia's only independent nationwide television
network, the Echo Moscow radio station where U-S
President Clinton spoke during a recent visit, and
several liberal newspapers. Each of those outlets has
been critical of President Putin and the military
offensive in Chechnya that helped catapult him to
power.
/// REZNIK ACT TWO - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///
Defense lawyer Reznik says it is easy to compare the
cases of Mr. Babitsky and Mr. Gusinsky. He says that
authorities do not like free and honest reporting. In
his words - the reason why Mr. Babitsky is being
persecuted is the same reason why Mr. Gusinsky was
arrested - the authorities do not want sensitive
problems to be reported objectively."
President Putin has said Mr. Gusinsky's arrest seemed
excessive, but that he could not personally interfere
in the case. Friday, Russia's lower-house of
parliament is to debate whether to recommend that
President Putin fire Russia's prosecutor-general
because of his handling of the Gusinsky case.
(SIGNED)
NEB/EC/JWH/RAE
22-Jun-2000 10:07 AM EDT (22-Jun-2000 1407 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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