H. E. Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation
Administration of the President
Staraya Sq. 4
103132, Moscow
Russian Federation

Fax: + 7 (095) 206 51 73 / 206 07 66 / 206 35 66

Vienna, 8 June 2004

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, is deeply concerned about the withdrawal by the television station NTV of an interview with the widow of Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, and the subsequent dismissal of Leonid Parfyonov, the director and anchorman of NTV’s political programme “Namedni” (“Recently”).

Leonid Parfyonov, one of Russia’s most popular and respected journalists, was dismissed on 1 June, after he publicly criticised NTV’s decision to withdraw an interview with Yandarbiyev’s widow, Malika, on “Namedni” on 30 May. Yandarbiyev, who briefly served as interim president after the assassination of Chechnya’s first separatist leader Dzhokhar Dudayev in 1996, was killed by a car bomb in Qatar on 13 February 2004. He had been living in Qatar since the start of the second Chechen war in 1999. Two Russian special agents are currently on trial in Qatar for Yandarbiyev’s murder.

According to reports in the Russian media, NTV’s deputy director Alexander Gerasimov was ordered not to air the interview by Russian security services. Due to Russia’s geographical position spanning eleven time zones, the interview was shown in the Russian Far East, but was removed from the programme by the time it aired in the western parts of Russia.

In an official statement, NTV said the interview was withdrawn because it might affect the outcome of the agents’ trial in Qatar. Parfyonov disagreed and said the interview had been dropped under pressure from the security services. Parfyonov’s programme included a five-minute report on the trial of the two Russian agents, and a short interview with Malika Yandarbiyeva.

Following NTV’s decision not to air the interview, Parfyonov released Gerasimov’s written order to the media and gave numerous interviews criticising the move. He was fired as a result, and the channel also announced that “Namedni” would be cancelled.

In an official statement, NTV said the programme had been taken off the air because Parfyonov, whose employment agreement obligated him to “support company leadership,” had violated his employment contract and company ethics. However, many journalists and politicians see the action as censorship.

While IPI makes no comment on the contractual issues in this case, the handling of the affair is highly alarming. In light of the censorship of news on Chechnya, IPI is concerned that this action is yet another in a series of moves silencing critical media and limiting the Russian people’s right to know what is happening in the war-torn region.

IPI urges Your Excellency to accept the fundamental principle of freedom of expression, as stated in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, according to which journalists have a fundamental right to “seek, receive and impart information”. We call on Your Excellency to work with the media to create an environment in Russia that allows journalists to practice their profession free of government pressure.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director

Background Note:

Russia was placed on the IPI Watch List on 23 June 2000. In its Open Letter to President Putin IPI said, “Despite initial comments by Your Excellency that freedom of the press would be encouraged, IPI believes that Your Excellency’s words have not been matched by firm deeds… . The deterioration in press freedom has manifested itself in a series of disturbing incidents including threats to block the renewal of licenses, the government’s attempts to replace independent journalists with obedient political appointees and plans to require licensing of newspapers.”