H. E. Boris Yeltsin
President of Russia
Moscow
Russian Federation
Vienna, 24 January 1996
The International Press Institute (IPI) strongly condemns the continued detention of two Turkish journalists by Russian authorities.
We are informed that M. Ali Tekin, managing editor of the weekly magazine Selam, and Telip Özcelik, Ankara representative of the same publication, were seized by Russian forces on 2 November 1995 as they tried to cross into Chechnya from the neighbouring Russian republic of Dagestan.
We understand that the two journalists were taken to Debrent, where they were held until 17 November, and that they were later transferred to the headquarters of the Federal Security Service in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. All efforts to obtain their release have been unsuccessful.
IPI, a global network of editors and media executives from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in 85 countries, regards the seizure and continued detention of the two Turkish journalists to be a flagrant violation of the right to “seek, receive and impart information through any media and regardless of frontiers,” as guaranteed by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We therefore strongly urge Your Excellency to ensure that M. Ali Tekin and Telip Özcelik are released immediately and unconditionally. We further urge that all possible steps are taken to ensure that both local and foreign journalists are allowed to report freely and without fear of harassment on events in Chechnya.
We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director