Monday, December 11, 2006
Journalists that criticized governor were thrown to jail
Group of distributors of printed bulletin of news agency "Pskov news bureau" lead by its founder Irina Tikhonova was put into police cars and delivered to central police department without giving any explanations, as Tikhonova told to PIA.
In her words in spite of all legal papers shown cops made journalists "wait for nobody knows what" for 4 hours. None of cops called his name and for all questions about reasons of jailing replied "rudely" that if they want they will "hold them for 48 hours".
While journalists being arrested all the printed materials were seized without any proper papers and told that "if cops' conscience will awake they will give materials back in 10 days", Irina said. She told that the front of bulletin contained articles that Pskov region governor Kuznetsov did not fulfill his election promises.
After 4 hours an investigator has come and started to interrogate her. She said it looked like a simple talking. He asked "if she could fulfill election promises if became a governor", "how she thinks if governor will be offended seeing their bulletin" and so on. It started being clarified that there were no actual formal reason for holding and Irina made a decision that it is just an ordinary fact of impediment for journalist works that is prosecuted as a criminal violation by law. As Tikhonova thinks cops were engaged for this action or just helpless in juridical aspects.
So there is a case made that any journalist of Pskov region who will allow himself criticize governor may easily be thrown to jail, Irina Tikhonova concluded.
In her words in spite of all legal papers shown cops made journalists "wait for nobody knows what" for 4 hours. None of cops called his name and for all questions about reasons of jailing replied "rudely" that if they want they will "hold them for 48 hours".
While journalists being arrested all the printed materials were seized without any proper papers and told that "if cops' conscience will awake they will give materials back in 10 days", Irina said. She told that the front of bulletin contained articles that Pskov region governor Kuznetsov did not fulfill his election promises.
After 4 hours an investigator has come and started to interrogate her. She said it looked like a simple talking. He asked "if she could fulfill election promises if became a governor", "how she thinks if governor will be offended seeing their bulletin" and so on. It started being clarified that there were no actual formal reason for holding and Irina made a decision that it is just an ordinary fact of impediment for journalist works that is prosecuted as a criminal violation by law. As Tikhonova thinks cops were engaged for this action or just helpless in juridical aspects.
So there is a case made that any journalist of Pskov region who will allow himself criticize governor may easily be thrown to jail, Irina Tikhonova concluded.
