OSCE calls for charges against Babitsky to be dropped

VIENNA, 29 February 2000 - Freimut Duve, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, welcomes the news from Russia that Andrei Babitsky, the Radio Liberty correspondent in Chechnya, is alive and well and finally arrived in Moscow. The OSCE Representative had followed Mr. Babitsky's plight and made a number of interventions with the Russian Government on his behalf.

However, Freimut Duve is concerned that Andrei Babitsky is still under criminal investigation for "falsifying documents." The OSCE Representative understands that when Babitsky was detained on 25 February in Dagestan, an Azerbaijani passport was found on him.

Freimut Duve believes that after the ordeal Babitsky had been through over the past month-and-a-half, he should be allowed to return to his family. It is up to the Prosecutor to decide if charges filed against Babitsky should be dropped. However, Freimut Duve encourages the State Prosecutor to do so, for reasons of compassion, if for nothing else.

The OSCE Representative is also concerned with reports from Babitsky himself that he was beaten at the Chernokozovo detention centre. Although the reporter did not consider these beatings as "serious," Freimut Duve expects the Russian authorities to investigate these allegations.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media is extremely concerned with reports from Russia, that ITAR-TASS correspondent Vladimir Yatsin, who has been held hostage by Chechen rebels, was recently executed. Freimut Duve demands that rebel commanders account for the whereabouts of Vladimir Yatsin.