By Connie Hong
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Alexander Bastrykin, Russia’s chief of the Investigative Committee, issued a public apology to Sergei Sokolov after making death threats to the Novaya Gazeta journalist.  In an off-the-record meeting with several editors from the Moscow media, Bastrykin apologized for being overly emotional during his confrontation with Sokolov.

Sokolov, the deputy editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta first received fire from Bastrykin after writing an article accusing the Investigative Committee and its chief for aiding crime bosses.  The article was written in response to the light sentences served against members of the Kushchyovskaya gang, which murdered 12 people, including small children, in 2011.  Amongst those sentences that Sokolov heavily criticized was the one imposed on local legislator Sergei Tsepovyaz.  Tsepovyaz, a brother of a gang member, was only ordered to pay a fine of 150,000 rubles ($4,570) after the court found him guilty of destroying evidence of a gasoline purchase.  The gasoline had been used by gang members to burn down the victims’ home.

Bastrykin was infuriated after reading the article, and quickly acted to invite Sokolov to a conference in Nalchik.  Sokolov received the death threat on the return trip to Moscow.  According to Muratov’s open letter to Bastrykin, Sokolov was taken to a forest near Moscow in a car.  There, Bastrykin ordered his bodyguards to leave before “rudely” threatening Sokolov’s life, adding jokingly that he would personally investigate Sokolov’s murder.  Sokolov fled the country shortly after telling a colleague that Bastrykin threatened to cut his head and legs off.

Bastrykin’s apology comes after the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)’s criticism.  Both groups supported Muratov and his demand for a public explanation, and urged Russian authorities to investigate the threats.

Sokolov and Muratov had both accepted Bastrykin’s apology.  While some have applauded the Investigator Committee chief, others have expressed disappointment in Novaya Gazeta’s response.

“It is now forbidden to take Sergei Sokolov out in the woods and threaten to do away with him, but it’s OK to do that to other journalists.  Because as of today it’s not even a crime, just a bit of rudeness.  That is Dmitry Muratov’s gift to the journalistic community that only yesterday took to the streets for him,” wrote Masha Gessen, editor of the travel magazine Vokrug Sveta.

While Bastrykin’s apology did not change the dangerous conditions of Russian journalists, it most certainly answered Novaya Gazeta’s demands for Sokolov’s safety.  Sokolov returned to Moscow on June 19 after Bastrykin apologized to him personally.

 

For further information, please see:

The Economist — Publish and be Threatened: A Revealing Tale of a Journalist and a Top Policeman — 23 June 2012

Bloomberg — What to Do When Russia’s Top Cop Threatens to Behead You — 20 June 2012

The Moscow Times — Bastrykin Ate His Words — 19 June 2012

International Federation of Journalists — IFJ and EFJ Slam Head of Russian Investigative Committee over Threats to Senior Journalist — 14 June 2012