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December 1, 1999
His Excellency Boris Yeltsin
President of the Russian Federation
VIA FAX: 011 7 095 206 5173 / 206 6277
Your Excellency,
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about a series of recent
attacks on journalists covering the conflict in Chechnya. Two Chechen cameramen have been killed
in recent weeks, while a Russian reporter and a French photojournalist have disappeared.
Ramzan Mezhidov, a freelance cameraman working for the Moscow-based TV Tsentr, and Shamil
Gigayev, a cameraman for the independent Nokh Cho television station in Grozny, were killed
during a Russian air attack on a convoy of refugees fleeing Chechnya on October 29. The journalists
were covering the convoy on route from Grozny to Nazran, in neighboring Ingushetia.
As the convoy approached the Chechen town of Shaami Yurt, a Russian bomber fired several
rockets from the air, hitting a busload of refugees. Despite warnings from colleagues traveling
with them, Mezhidov and Gigayev left their vehicle with their video cameras to film the carnage.
As they approached the bus, another Russian rocket hit a nearby truck, fatally wounding both
journalists.
Meanwhile, two other journalists have gone missing in the northern Caucasus. Dmitry Balburov, a
correspondent for the Moscow-based weekly Moskovskiye Novosti, was reported missing by his employers
in mid-October. Balburov was on a 10-day-long trip to cover the Chechnya conflict. Balburov's editors
last heard from him on October 4, when he called them from Nazran before leaving for the Chechen
border. The paper has not heard from Balburov since. Nor has it received any ransom demands or news
about him.
French freelance photographer Brice Fleutiaux has been missing in the region since October 1. The
Russian FSB security service subsequently released footage of an unshaven man standing in a dark room
complaining in French about poor treatment by his captors. An FSB spokesman claimed that Chechen
kidnappers had made the tape and turned it over to them in order to collect ransom for Fleutiaux's
release. The tape was broadcast on the Russian NTV channel on October 31. However, CPJ has been
unable to confirm that Fleutiaux was in fact kidnapped..
As a nonpartisan organization of journalists dedicated to defending the rights of our colleagues
around the world, CPJ is greatly troubled by the apparent Russian military disregard for the security
of journalists attempting to cover all sides of the conflict in Chechnya. In particular, we are
alarmed by what appears to be a deliberate strategy of targeting civilians. This strategy places
journalists, who are duty-bound to cover war casualties, at even greater risk in conflict zones.
We urge you to uphold your international obligation to ensure that all journalists in the northern
Caucasus may practice their profession freely and safely.
Thank you for your attention to these urgent matters. We await your comments.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Join CPJ in
Protesting Attacks on the Press in Chechnya
Send a letter to:
His Excellency Boris Yeltsin
President of the Russian Federation
VIA FAX: 011 7 095 206 5173 / 206 6277
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