H.E. Vladimir V. Putin
President
The Kremlin
Moscow
Russian Federation
Fax: (011.7.095) 206-5173/ 6277
Your Excellency:
We protested to you recently about growing governmental control and the consequent deterioration of independent media and free expression in Russia. Today, we write about the apparent atmosphere of lawlessness and intimidation that pervades your country. Tragically, journalists as a target for shocking violence is an occurrence growing more and more commonplace.
This month, Farid Omar, correspondent for the Afghan service of the American Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Moscow, was left in a critical condition after being stabbed at the entrance to his apartment block on July 2. And, of course, there was the appalling July 9 murder of Forbes Russia editor, Paul Klebnikov, the 15th journalist killed during your term as president.
Democracy does not only depend on the words of a government in support of the people’s rights. Democracy depends on the actions of that government to ensure those rights. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, many murders of journalists, such as Valery Ivanov in 2002 and Aleksei Sidorov in 2003, “have not been properly investigated or prosecuted, a testament to the ongoing lawlessness in Russia and your failure to reform the country’s weak and politicized criminal justice system.” Your government must investigate each of these crimes thoroughly, bring the perpetrators to trial, and punish them appropriately.
When you became president of the Russian Federation, we were glad to hear your words of support for freedom of the press. Yet, Russia is now considered “not free” in Freedom House’s review of press freedom throughout the world. It is past time for your words to be backed by action.
Respectfully yours,
Norman A. Schorr Kevin McDermott
Co-chairmen, Freedom of the Press Committee
cc:
Igor Ivanov
Foreign Minister
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
g. Moscow 121200
Russian Federation
Fax: (011.7.095) 230-2130
Yuriy Victorovich Ushakov
Ambassador of Russia to the U.S.A.
Embassy of the Russian Federation
2650 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007
Fax: (202) 298-5735
Ambassador Sergey V. Lavrov
Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation
to the United Nations
136 East 67th Street
New York, NY 10021
Fax: (212) 628-0252
Alexander R. Vershbow
U.S. Ambassador to Russia
Embassy of the United States of America
8 Bolshoy Devyatinskiy Pereulok
Moscow 121099
Russia
Fax: (011.7.095) 728-5090