President Vladimir Putin
Federation of Russia
c/o Alexei A. Gromov
Presidential Spokesperson
Moscow
Russia

14 June 2000

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute, the global network of editors and journalists, condemns in the strongest possible terms the arrest and detention of the Media-Most group owner Vladimir Gusinsky.

On June 13, Gusinsky, owner of the independent television station NTV and the Moscow newspaper Sevodnya, was arrested by the Kremlin’s chief prosecutor on suspicion of embezzlement. The charges are apparently connected to the purchase of a state-owned television station in St. Petersburg in the mid-1990’s. All charges are vigorously denied by Gusinky’s media company. Gusinsky is currently being held in Moscow’s overcrowded Butyrskaya jail.

The arrest of Gusinsky for embezzlement comes after a series of assaults by the government on his media group.

On 11 May, armed police searched the head office of the Media-Most press organisation, as well as the offices of two group companies, NTV Internet and Memonet. Authorities cited a pre-trial investigation on Media-Most’s security services as the reason for the search.

Furthermore, both NTV and the Echoes of Moscow radio station have complained of regular interference by the authorities, including threats to block the renewal of their licenses. In November, the bank accounts of Media-Most were frozen by the courts in an action involving unpaid credits.

According to media reports, in another disturbing act against the Media-Most group, the Kremlin appears to be attempting to replace the current vice-president of the NTV group, Yevgeni Kisselev, with an obedient political appointee. Such a move would appear to be an attempt to curtail criticism of the government by the television station.

In the opinion of IPI, the government appears to be pursuing calculated acts of harassment against the Media-Most in response to its critical reporting. These acts seem to send a clear signal to the independent media that the government will retaliate against criticism which it finds embarrassing.

Taking into account Your Excellency’s previous statement on how limits to freedom of speech and the media are not permissible, IPI urges you to do everything in your power to bring to a halt these escalating attacks on the media. IPI also calls on Your Excellency to release Gusinsky from detention forthwith, thereby upholding the democratic principle that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Furthermore, even if Gusinsky is found guilty of breaking the law, IPI reminds Your Excellency that this does not justify acts of intimidation and harassment against the Media-Most group.

We thank you for your attention.

Johann P. Fritz
Director