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The
Assembly of Delegates of International PEN, meeting at its 70th
Congress
in Tromso, Norway, 6th - 12th September 2004,
Expresses
concern about the assault on freedom of speech and self-expression
caused by the absence of any independent media in Russia resulting
in the holding of presidential elections in the Russian Federation
where the general public had no access to alternative sources of
information other than that provided by the government in power,
a contradiction of the concept of democracy;
Shocked by the assassination of writer and journalist
Paul Klebnikov on 9 July 2004, believed to be in retaliation
of his exposes of criminal activities of some of Russia's most wealthy
people;
Notes with deepening alarm that Klebnikov's murder brings
the total number of journalists killed in Russia since 2000 to fifteen,
making Russia one of the most dangerous countries in which to be
a journalist:
Raises questions about the fate of Chechen journalist, Ali
Astimarov, about whom nothing has been heard since he disappeared
in Ingushetia in July 2003 after being seen driven off in a car
by unknown persons, and sharing Astimarov employer's, Agence France
Press, concerns that he may have been taken by the Russian Federal
Security Service because of his reporting on the crisis in Chechnya;
Also concerned about the reported disappearance of Maxim
Maximonov, journalist from St Petersburg
Points out with utmost alarm that contrary to the Constitution
of the Russian Federation, writer Bayan Shirianov is currently before
the courts on charges of "pornography" for his books that are widely
considered to be works of critical realism, independent thinking,
non-standard aesthetics, which offer an important diversion from
the average statistical commercial literature;
Is indignant at the judgåment of the Russian Court concerning
the case of Igor Sutiaghin, a scholar of American studies sentenced
to 15-year imprisonment on charges of "espionage" despite the fact
that he had made use only of the materials found in the open press
and other publications. This judgement contradicts not only the
laws of the Russian Federation but also to the United Nations Declaration
on Human Rights Article 19 that guarantees the right to freedom
of expression and information;
Calls upon all Centres of International PEN to urge their
own governments to protest at an inter-governmental level about
the above-mentioned abuses of the right to seek and impart information;
Calls upon the President and the Government of the Russian
Federation to guarantee by deeds, and not only in words, Russian
citizen's rights as pronounced in international human rights standard
to which Russia is committed, most notably the rights to freedom
of speech and information, alongside judicial and legislative powers
that are truly independent of government influence.
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