(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Russian Minister of the Interior Vladimir Rushailo and Minister of Information Mikhail Lesin, RSF expressed its concern about the fate of Japanese journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka, who went to report from Chechnya in July 2001. His family and friends have not heard from him since. RSF urged the Russian authorities […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Russian Minister of the Interior Vladimir Rushailo and Minister of Information Mikhail Lesin, RSF expressed its concern about the fate of Japanese journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka, who went to report from Chechnya in July 2001. His family and friends have not heard from him since. RSF urged the Russian authorities to make all possible means available in order to locate the journalist, and to announce the results of their search efforts without delay.
According to information collected by RSF, Tsuneoka, an independent Japanese journalist who is registered as a permanent resident in Moscow, has not contacted his family or friends since the end of July. At the time, he had warned his family in an e-mail message sent from Tbilisi, Georgia, that he would soon be leaving for remote areas in Chechnya, where it would be difficult for him to find e-mail access. His last articles about the situation in Chechnya, particularly Grozny, were published in the Japanese magazine “Friday” on 3 July and 24 August. This last article was sent by the journalist in late July. Since 1999, many of Tsuneoka’s reports have been published in the Japanese magazine “Sapio”, and video images he shot have been broadcast on the Japanese television stations NHK and TV Tokyo.
