CPJ expresses concern over pending criminal libel charges against deputy editor-in-chief

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 5 April 2002 letter to President Vladimir Putin, CPJ expressed grave concern over pending criminal libel charges against Igor Zotov, deputy editor-in-chief of the Moscow independent daily “Nezavisimaya Gazeta”. Based on its research, CPJ believes that Zotov is facing politically motivated retribution for “Nezavisimaya Gazeta”‘s critical reporting, as well as for […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 5 April 2002 letter to President Vladimir Putin, CPJ expressed grave concern over pending criminal libel charges against Igor Zotov, deputy editor-in-chief of the Moscow independent daily “Nezavisimaya Gazeta”.

Based on its research, CPJ believes that Zotov is facing politically motivated retribution for “Nezavisimaya Gazeta”‘s critical reporting, as well as for its association with Boris Berezovsky, a vocal critic of the president and the newspaper’s majority shareholder.

In light of the recent liquidation of the TV-6 television network, in which Berezovsky also held the majority stake, the case against Zotov seems designed to silence yet another media outlet that has criticized official malfeasance in Russia.

According to CPJ, it seems particularly suspicious that the charges were brought against Zotov shortly after the newspaper published his 7 March article on a Berezovsky-backed film that blamed the Federal Security Service (FSB) for apartment building bombings throughout Russia in 1999. President Putin’s government contends that Chechen rebels perpetrated these attacks.

The case against “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” and Zotov is ostensibly based on a 27 November 2001 article alleging that three Moscow judges accepted bribes from the lawyers of Anatoly Bykov, a prominent businessman from the Krasnoyarsk Region, who was on trial for attempted murder.

As the editor responsible for that day’s edition of the newspaper, Zotov is accused of libeling Moscow City Court chairperson Olga Yegorova and two federal judges from Moscow’s Meshchansky Intermunicipal Court, V. Nikitin and N. Kurdyukov. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

The article cited anonymous sources in the FSB and other law enforcement bodies to support its claims about the three judges. On 4 April, “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” published a letter from Krasnoyarsk governor Aleksandr Lebed to an undisclosed federal authority in Moscow containing similar allegations of judicial misconduct in the Bykov case.

On 5 December, “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” published a letter from the businessman’s attorneys repudiating the article’s allegations. According to Russia’s Law on Mass Media, publishing such a letter constitutes a retraction. However, the three judges accused of bribery never contacted the newspaper seeking a retraction, according to a 29 December editorial in “Nezavisimaya Gazeta”.

In December, the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office launched a criminal libel investigation against “Nezavisimaya Gazeta”. On 29 March , the prosecutor’s office notified Zotov of its intent to press criminal libel charges against him and summoned the journalist to appear on 1 April.

Zotov was hospitalized with high blood pressure before the date of the appearance. He remains in serious condition, according to “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” editor-in-chief Tatyana Koshkaryova. The prosecutors have been trying to contact him at the hospital, Koshkaryova said. CPJ fears that Zotov’s health may deteriorate even further if authorities continue to hound him on his sickbed.

CPJ believes that reporting on matters of clear public interest should not be a criminal offense. CPJ holds that civil courts provide adequate recourse for individuals who feel they have been defamed.

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