Newsroom
Statement by the Chairperson-in-Office on the fate of journalist Babitsky
VIENNA 10 February 2000
VIENNA, 10 February 2000 - The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner, is deeply concerned about the fate of Andrei Babitsky, Radio Liberty Correspondent in Grozny, who went missing in Chechnya on 15 January 2000.
The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office is highly astonished about TV reports of 4 February that Andrei Babitsky had been handed over by Russian military to a Chechen rebel unit in exchange for two Russian soldiers. Since then, the whereabouts of Mr. Babitsky are unknown.
The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office calls for the immediate clarification of Andrei Babitsky´s disappearance. She reaffirms the commitment of the OSCE to take all necessary steps to ensure the basic conditions for free and independent media and unimpeded flow of information. As stated in the Charter for European Security, these issues represent an essential component of any democratic, free and open society.
The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office is highly astonished about TV reports of 4 February that Andrei Babitsky had been handed over by Russian military to a Chechen rebel unit in exchange for two Russian soldiers. Since then, the whereabouts of Mr. Babitsky are unknown.
The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office calls for the immediate clarification of Andrei Babitsky´s disappearance. She reaffirms the commitment of the OSCE to take all necessary steps to ensure the basic conditions for free and independent media and unimpeded flow of information. As stated in the Charter for European Security, these issues represent an essential component of any democratic, free and open society.