Source: Globus Independent Press Syndicate Media Defence Centre, Moscow The case of journalist Valery Yerofeyev, who has already been in detention for nine months, went to trial on 18 June 1996 in the city of Samara. Yerofeyev is charged under Article 226 of the Penal Code with “pandering” in regard to his alleged procurement of […]
Source: Globus Independent Press Syndicate Media Defence Centre,
Moscow
The case of journalist Valery Yerofeyev, who has already been in
detention for nine months, went to trial on 18 June 1996 in the
city of Samara. Yerofeyev is charged under Article 226 of the
Penal Code with “pandering” in regard to his alleged procurement
of the services of prostitutes. The local chapter of the Russian
Journalists’ Union and his attorney have deemed the charges
“trumped up,” as the arrest of Yerofeyev in September 1995 was
actually in response to his journalistic investigation into
corruption at the Samara police department. A member of the
Russian Journalists’ Union and former editor-in-chief of three
city newspapers, “Vremya-Iks”, “Novy Vodolei” and “Mikhail”,
Yerofeyev faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
The harassment of Yerofeyev began when he published in spring
1995 a series of articles entitled “People on Sidewalks” in which
he claimed that high-ranking officers of the city police had been
accepting bribes from owners of “massage parlours” which were
said to be operating as brothels. On 7 June 1995, Yerofeyev was
detained for three days on suspicions of “procuring a
prostitute,” beaten while in police custody–as documented by a
doctor’s certificate–and warned by police to discontinue the
series. According to Yerofeyev, police also harassed the
prostitutes and “massage parlour” owners and forced them to
testify that it was Yerofeyev, not the police, who was receiving
money, which the police said he was given in return for finding
clients for the prostitutes.
Despite the three-day detention, Yerofeyev continued his series
until his second arrest on 25 September 1995 while on vacation in
the Ukrainian city of Simferopol. A special squad from the Samara
police travelled from Russia to neighbouring Ukraine in order to
extradite Yerofeyev and take him in for questioning. All
petitions for bail filed with the prosecutor’s office by his
attorney and the local journalists’ union proved unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Yerofeyev’s health is said to have deteriorated while
in detention. He is a disabled person without the use of his
right arm. At the time of his arrest, he was suffering from
osteomyelitis, a chronic kidney disease, and an eye ailment. In
the last nine months of detention, he has suffered from scabies,
dysentery and acute vision problems.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
charged in retaliation for his journalistic work rather than any
real violation of the law
he be released immediately
officers in Samara responsible for the arrest of Yerofeyev
Appeals To
His Excellency Boris Yeltsin
President
Moscow, Russia
Fax: +70 95 206 39 61/206 51 37/206 00 33
Government Press Office Fax: +70 95 230 24 08
or e-mail c/o Marat Guriev, Administration of President Yeltsin:
marat@guriev.niiros.msk.su
His Excellency Yuri Skuratov
Prosecutor General of Russia
Moscow, Russia
Fax: +70 95 292 88 48/+70 95 925 18 79
Col. Gen Anatoly Kulikov
Minister of Internal Affairs
Moscow, Russia
Fax: + 70 92 30 25 80
the Russian diplomatic representative to your country
(in Canada)
Ambassador Alexander M. Belogonov
Embassy of the Russian Federation
285 Charlotte St.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 8L5 Canada
Fax: +1 613 236 6342
(in the United States)
Embassy of the Russian Federation
Washington, DC
United States
Fax: +1 202 298 5735
Please copy appeals to the originator if possible.
