MAYDAY - Andrei Babitsky
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INFORMATION ON VLADIMIR PUTIN'S ACTIONS WITH REGARD |
Moscow. February 15, RIA Novosti
Vladimir Putin ordered the special services "to ensure the safety and freedom" of Radio Liberty correspondent Andrei Babitsky. The Acting President made this known to RIA Novosti after the ceremony in which the Central Election Commission registered him as candidate for President of Russia. When asked about his promise to personally hold under review become involved in the fate of Babitsky, Putin said that he was referring "not to personal participation, but to personal oversight." Personal oversight, according to Putin, consists in the permanent contact with the special services and the Prosecutor General's Office which is handling the case.
Krasnodar, February 11, INTERFAX
After a meeting on the problem of agriculture in Krasnodar, Acting President Vladimir Putin evaded answering journalists' questions about the fate of Radio Liberty correspondent Andrei Babitsky by saying that "Babitsky is not an agricultural producer" (and by implication, the question is irrelevant in a conference devoted to the problem of agriculture - INTERFAX).
Moscow, February 2. INTERFAX
In an interview with Interfax, Vice Premier Valentina Matvienko said: "Acting President Vladimir Putin has issued all the necessary instructions to look into the situation surrounding journalist Babitsky and to examine the legal aspect of the issue".
Moscow. January 31 (ITAR-TASS correspondent)
At a joint press conference with Madeleine Albright, the Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, commented on the reports about the detention in Chechnya of Radio Liberty correspondent Andrei Babitsky. He said: "The issue has been taken under review by Acting President Vladimir Putin. On his instructions, a representative of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation has gone to the North Caucasus to find out all the circumstances of the detention. As soon as we get a proper report on the issue we will inform you on the decision."
Moscow, January 29. INTERFAX
At the initiative of Active President Vladimir Putin the Chief of the Prosecutor General's Office Main Directorate for the North Caucasus, Yuri Biryukov, went to Chechnya on Saturday.
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THE MAGAZINE'S POSITION |
By taking the Babitsky case under his personal review, Vladimir Putin has undertaken to guarantee fair treatment of the journalist. As a minimum he assumed the obligation to strictly comply with the law in the treatment of the journalist.
At the same time, the known circumstances under which Andrei Babitsky was detained, kept in custody and handed over to unidentified persons provide ample grounds for saying that in the case of journalist Andrei Babitsky the standards of Russian and international law have been crudely violated, the provisions of the country's Constitution have been flaunted, and the rights and freedoms of the country's citizens have been seriously infringed (see legal assessment of the circumstances of Andrei Babitsky's detention). Moreover the journalist has been totally deprived of the main civil right and the main guarantee of being treated according to the law, the right to defence. The journalist's defence lawyers are being denied access to the materials of the case and prevented from assessing the legitimacy of official actions with regard to the journalist.
It means that in the case of Babitsky we are talking not about a legitimate prosecution of a citizen but about victimization.
In that case Vladimir Putin is an accomplice in the victimization.
To determine the degree of complicity it is necessary to interrogate Vladimir Putin to find out which of the actions with regard to the journalist were personally sanctioned by Vladimir Putin and with which actions he agreed after they were taken.
At the very least Vladimir Putin's actions have the content of deeds covered by Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Negligence).
In this connection the magazine has sent a petition to the Prosecutor General's Office to consider the issue of opening a criminal case against Vladimir Putin.
You may see the contributions and your self-contribute to the debates in the hearings:
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