[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 303 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 303

   Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the treatment by the 
Russian Federation of Andrei Babitsky, a Russian journalist working for 
                    Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 4, 2000

   Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Grams) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the treatment by the 
Russian Federation of Andrei Babitsky, a Russian journalist working for 
                    Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Whereas Andrei Babitsky, an accomplished Russian journalist working for Radio 
        Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a United States Government-funded 
        broadcasting service, faces serious charges in Russia after being held 
        captive and beaten by Russian authorities;
Whereas the mission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's bureaus in Russia is to 
        provide Russian listeners objective and uncensored reporting on 
        developments in Russia and around the world;
Whereas Russian authorities repeatedly denounced Mr. Babitsky for his reporting 
        on the war in Chechnya, including his documentation of Russian troop 
        casualties and the Russian Federation's brutal treatment of Chechen 
        civilians;
Whereas Senate Resolutions 223 and 262 of the One Hundred Sixth Congress 
        condemning the violence in Chechnya and urging a peaceful resolution to 
        the conflict were adopted by the Senate by unanimous consent on November 
        19, 1999, and February 24, 2000, respectively;
Whereas on January 16, Mr. Babitsky was arrested by Russian police in the 
        Chechen battle zone, was accused of assisting the Chechen forces, and 
        was told he was to stand trial in Moscow;
Whereas Russian authorities took Mr. Babitsky to a ``filtration camp'' for 
        suspected Chechen collaborators where he was severely beaten and then 
        transferred to an undisclosed location;
Whereas on February 3, the Government of the Russian Federation announced that 
        it had traded Mr. Babitsky to Chechen units in exchange for Russian 
        prisoners, a violation of the Geneva Conventions to which Russia is a 
        party;
Whereas on February 25, Mr. Babitsky was released by his captors in the Republic 
        of Dagestan, only to be jailed by Russian officials for carrying false 
        identity papers;
Whereas Mr. Babitsky says the papers were forced on him by his captors and used 
        to smuggle him across borders;
Whereas Mr. Babitsky now faces charges from the Government of the Russian 
        Federation of collaborating with the Chechens and carrying false 
        identity papers and is not allowed to leave the city of Moscow;
Whereas on February 25, a senior advisor in Russia's Foreign Ministry published 
        an article in The Moscow Times entitled ``Should Liberty Leave?'', which 
        condemned the coverage by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty of the war in 
        Chechnya, particularly reporting by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 
        correspondent Andrei Babitsky, and which stated that it would ``be 
        better to close down the branches of Radio Liberty on Russian 
        territory'';
Whereas on March 13, the Russian Ministry of the Press ordered Radio Free 
        Europe/Radio Liberty's Moscow Bureau to provide complete recordings of 
        broadcasts between February 15 and March 15, an action that Radio Free 
        Europe/Radio Liberty described as ``designed to intimidate us and 
        others'';
Whereas on March 14, the Russian Ministry of the Press issued a directive to 
        prevent the broadcast of interviews from Chechen resistance leaders, an 
        act of censorship which undercuts the ability of Radio Free Europe/Radio 
        Liberty to fulfill its responsibilities as an objective news 
        organization;
Whereas the treatment of Mr. Babitsky intimidates other correspondents working 
        in Russia, particularly those covering the tragic story unfolding in 
        Chechnya;
Whereas Russia's evolution into a stable democracy requires a free and vibrant 
        press; and
Whereas it is imperative that the United States Government respond vigorously to 
        the harassment and intimidation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to drop 
        its charges against Mr. Babitsky;
            (2) calls upon the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        provide a full accounting of Mr. Babitsky's detention;
            (3) condemns the Russian Federation's harassment and 
        intimidation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and other news 
        organizations;
            (4) calls upon the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        adhere fully to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 
        which declares in Article 19 that ``everyone has the right to 
        freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the 
        freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, 
        receive and impart information and ideas through any media 
        regardless of frontiers'';
            (5) urges the Government of the Russian Federation and the 
        President of the United States to implement the recommendations 
        in Senate Resolutions 223 and 262 of the One Hundred Sixth 
        Congress; and
            (6) urges the President of the United States to place these 
        issues high on the agenda for his June 4-5 summit meeting with 
        President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation.
                                 <all>