Russian Ombudsman to Defend the Rights of the Georgian Journalists

Russian Ombudsman to Defend the Rights of Georgian Journalists

Tbilisi. 07.09.04. Media News. Temur Lomsadze, the Georgian Interim Public Defender, made the statement regarding the detention of two journalists of the Tbilisi-based television station “Rustavi 2” in the city of Beslan. The statement reads that on the background of the tragedy that occurred in Beslan and that caused the death of hundreds of innocent children and women, the Russian law enforcers openly violated human rights.  The 48 hours term of pre-detention of the Georgian journalists has been violated with a further violation occurring when the attorney of the journalists was not admitted to the proceeding that took place in Vladikavkaz.

Temur Lomsadze expressed grave concern saying that by detaining the journalists in Beslan, the core international acts regarding freedom of speech have been violated.

The Interim Public Defender had talks regarding this issue with Vladimir Lukin, Human Rights Commissioner in Russia, who promised help in defending the rights of the journalists.