No wonder Bush loved his "soul" so much! UPDATE - RUSSIA
22 September 2006
Journalist on trial for satirizing Putin
SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
**Updates IFEX alert of 24 May 2006**
(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:
RUSSIA: Journalist on trial for satirizing Putin
New York, September 21, 2006 - The Committee to Protect Journalists is
deeply concerned by the prosecution for criminal insult of a Russian
journalist who satirized President Vladimir Putin's campaign to boost the
birth rate.
Vladimir Rakhmankov, editor-in-chief of the independent news web site
Kursiv, went on trial today in the city of Ivanovo, northeast of Moscow,
charged with insulting the president in a May article titled "Putin as
Russia's phallic symbol." The article satirized Putin's goal, outlined
in a May 10 speech to the Federal Assembly, of increasing Russia's
population. Under Article 319 of Russia's criminal code, "Insulting a
Public Official," Rakhmankov could be penalized with up to one year of
corrective labor.
Local prosecutors brought the case without the involvement of Putin or
presidential representatives, according to local press reports.
"It is outrageous that local prosecutors should bring the full force of
the criminal law to bear on a journalist for writing a commentary on
the public policy of an elected politician," said CPJ Executive Director
Joel Simon. "Prosecutors should never resort to the criminal law to
shield public figures from the press. Satire is an essential and vital
element of democratic discourse. We call on the authorities to halt the
prosecution of Vladimir Rakhmankov immediately."
To read CPJ's earlier alert click here:
http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/europe/russia23may06na.htmlOn May 19, investigators from the Ivanovo regional prosecutor's office
raided Kursiv's newsroom, seized computers, and searched Rakhmankov's
apartment, confiscating his personal computer. Kursiv was forced to
change Internet providers after its previous provider halted service
following the Putin article.
The criminal insult charge follows the publication of several articles
critical of the local governor, Mikhail Men, on the Kursiv site. On
March 15, Rakhmankov went to meet with the governor's press secretary,
Andrei Parnov. When he arrived, an unidentified man walked out of Parnov's
office and hit Rakhmankov several times, according to the Moscow-based
press freedom group Glasnost Defense Foundation. On March 17,
Rakhmankov filed a complaint with local prosecutors but they refused to take up
the case, news Web site Lenta reported.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works
to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit
http://www.cpj.orgFor further information, contact Nina Ognianova (x106) or Tara Ornstein
(x 101) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1
212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: europe@cpj.org,
nognianova@cpj.org , tornstein@cpj.org, Internet:
http://www.cpj.org/The information contained in this update is the sole responsibility of
CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please
credit CPJ.
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