(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is greatly alarmed by a murder attempt and series of death threats against Sergei Zhubinsky, a reporter with the privately-owned local XXI Vek television station in Achinsk, in the Krasnoyarsk region. In early May, Zhubinsky began receiving anonymous telephone calls threatening him and his family. The callers ordered Zhubinsky to stop broadcasting […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is greatly alarmed by a murder attempt and series of death
threats against Sergei Zhubinsky, a reporter with the privately-owned local
XXI Vek television station in Achinsk, in the Krasnoyarsk region.
In early May, Zhubinsky began receiving anonymous telephone calls
threatening him and his family. The callers ordered Zhubinsky to stop
broadcasting a series of investigative reports about corruption at the
Achinsk Alumina plant that he produced for the station XXI Vek TV. The plant
employs about half the city’s working population.
Zhubinsky’s broadcasts investigated reports that Nail Nasyrov, the plant’s
director, had embezzled company profits and defrauded the regional
administration of tax revenues by selling aluminum at below-market prices.
Zhubinsky also reported on lax safety standards at the plant, which were
blamed for the deaths of two employees.
On 19 August 1999, Zhubinsky found an explosive device attached to the
underside of his car, which was parked outside his house in Achinsk. The
bomb was set to explode when the car was moved. Zhubinsky informed the
regional authorities, who managed to defuse and remove the device.
There were no more death threats for about three weeks. But in early
September, Krasnoyarsk Governor Aleksander Lebed fired Nasyrov for
corruption. After Zhubinsky praised this decision on the air, the threats
resumed. When Zhubinsky showed up at the plant to interview employees,
Nasyrov’s assistant Victor Ostravlanchik threatened him in person.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
guarantee the rights of journalists to work freely and safely
response to his professional work
intimidation among Russian journalists that greatly inhibits press freedom
the
attempted murder of Zhubinsky and prosecute those found responsible
Appeals To
His Excellency Boris Yeltsin
President of the Russian Federation
Fax: +7 095 206 5173 / 206 6277
E-mail: president@gov.ru
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
