OSCE media watchdog concerned over increased pressure on media in Russia
VIENNA, 3 November 2002 - Europe's media watchdog, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Freimut Duve, has expressed his concern regarding the recent prevailing climate of pressure on the media in Russia.
On 1 November, Russian security officers searched the premises of the Moscow weekly newspaper, Versiya, reportedly regarding information published in an article by the newspaper on 27 May 2002. However, the editor of Versiya, Andrei Soldatov, believed that this operation against his newspaper was related to a forthcoming article on the storming of the Moscow theatre and freeing of the hostages there on 26 October.
"This attack against an independent media outlet is especially ominous since it happened 24 hours after the Russian Parliament adopted a number of highly restrictive provisions to the Law on Media. Several prominent Russian politicians have declared these amendments as basically initiating censorship in Russia. Under the current circumstances, the search of the premises of a leading weekly raises very serious concerns regarding Russia's commitment to freedom of expression," stressed Freimut Duve.
Duve hopes that the Russian Parliament Federation Council, which will now discuss these amendments, will reject them. He will also appeal to the Russian Government, asking it to ensure that the country's commitments to freedom of the media as a participating State of the OSCE, a family of declared democracies, are fully adhered to. He awaits further information on the situation concerning the weekly, Versiya.