To whom it may concern:
Please support this Appeal for
Andrey Babitsky.
| To: Kofi Annan,
UN Secretary-General |
Esteemed UN Secretary-General,
With this I appeal to convoke a special meeting of
the UN Security Council to consider Russia's unprecedented action
which threatens to undermine the World Rule of the Law order.
According to Russia's official statement Andrey
Babitsky, journalist earlier detained in Chechnya, was on 3 February
handed over by Russian authorities to "Chechen fighters"
officially recognized by Russian authorities as "criminals"
and "bandits".
The most astonishing is the position of Russian Acting
President Vladimir Putin who in the interview, 4 February, confirmed
his personal approval of this State-criminals deal. "Now
Babitsky will be really scared and he will understand well what
hands he fell into", - said top political Leader of Russia
commenting film, shot by the FSB, demonstrating Andrey Babitsky
being escorted along a road by Russian soldiers and then given
to unarmed men in camouflage wearing masks. Since then nobody
knows anything about the fate of journalist; Vladimir Putin bears
personal responsibility for his surviving.
History gives many sad examples of "shadow"
cooperation of State bodies with criminal world. However Russia's
present legitimization of such a cooperation is a dangerous "legal"
novelty which deserves special attention of United Nations.
Boris Altshuler,
Member of the Moscow Helsinki Group,
Head of the "Movement without Frontiers"
and of the "Right of Child" NGOs,
Member of the Board of Human Rights Center.