WRITTEN QUESTION E-0372/04 by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission. Interrogation of the editor Alexander Podrabinek.
Date: 2004-02-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Russia, dissidence, freedom of expression, freedom of opinion, pluralism in the media, publisher, repression

C 84 E/380

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

(2004/C 84 E/0442)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0372/04

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(12 February 2004)

Subject: Interrogation of the editor Alexander Podrabinek

Interfax and Lenta.ru reported on 27 January that Alexander Podrabinek, a Soviet dissident and former
political prisoner, currently editor-in-chief of the press agency Prima Human Rights Information, had
received a summons from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to appear at Moscow’s Lefortovo
Prison to answer questions. According to Mr Podrabinek, who is also editor-in-chief of the newspaper
Express Chronica, this summons is probably connected to the FSB’s seizure in December of 4 376 copies
of the book ‘FSB Blows Up Russia’, written by Alexander Litvinenko, a former FSB officer and an associate
of the self-exiled businessman, Boris Berezovsky, and the historian Yuri Felshtinsky (see also RFE/RL
Newsline, 30 December 2003). The book claims that the FSB were behind a series of bombings of flats
that killed more than 300 people in 1999 and served as a pretext to resume military attacks on Chechnya.
According to Mr Podrabinek, the Prima agency had bought copies of the book, which had been printed in
Latvia and seized on their way to Moscow to be sold in bookshops.

information does the Commission have about

What
the Russian authorities’
repression of the freedom of expression and opinion? What initiatives is it planning to prevent the Russian
authorities from taking decisions that are harmful to Mr Podrabinek and media freedom? What is the
Commission’s opinion of the increasingly widespread monitoring by the FSB at all levels of Russian society
and institutions? In the light of the systematic violations of the freedom of information, the press and
opinion, which have characterised Russian life for the last three or four years, does the Commission not
believe that it should reconsider its support programmes for the Russian media?

this latest example of

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(16 March 2004)

The Commission is aware of recent events involving Mr Podrabinek, whose Prima-news website was set up
with the help of a grant under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) Micro-
project Facility. Not only in this specific case, but also in relation to media freedom more generally, the
Commission is closely following developments in Russia. In this regard, the Commission recalls the public
declaration of concern on media freedom issued by the EU in July 2003. In view of recent developments,
the Commission considers it all the more important to support the development of an independent and
pluralistic media in Russia.

In its recent Communication on relations with Russia (1), the Commission underlined the need for the EU
to hold an open and frank dialogue,
in order to insist that Russia respect the values to which it is
committed as a member of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Council of
Europe, such as respect for human rights and media freedom. These issues are frequently raised in the
political dialogue which the EU holds with the Russian authorities.

The Commission’s activity is not limited to political dialogue. Under the EIDHR 2004 call for proposals,
for example, freedom of the media has been identified as one of the thematic priorities. The Commission
to enhance freedom of expression and
including support
intends to target a number of activities,
independent media, in particular at the regional level; strengthening professionalism and ethics in Russian
journalism; strengthening the legal and institutional framework for the protection of press freedom;
empowering journalists to take actions in defence of their rights; improving the quality of management of
the media, aiming at ensuring financial viability, tax law compliance, and ultimately de facto independence;
supporting local community independent media and improving the quality and coverage of human rights
issues in the media.

(1) COM(2004) 106 final.