Ministers’ Deputies

Notes on the Agenda

CM/Notes/1227/3.2e                 6 May 2015[1]

 

1227 Meeting, 12 May 2015

3 Parliamentary Assembly

3.2 Written Questions by members of the Parliamentary Assembly to the Committee of Ministers

e. Written Question No. 686 by Mr Alexey Pushkov: “Systemic violations of journalists’ rights by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova”

Reference documents -

 

 

Action: To hold a first exchange of views on Written Question No. 686 by Mr Alexey Pushkov to the Committee of Ministers, reproduced below, with a view to instructing the Secretariat to prepare a draft reply.

Written Question No. 686 by Mr Alexey Pushkov: “Systemic violations of journalists’ rights by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova”
[Doc. 13784 – 5 May 2015]

On 18 March 2015, the VGTRK camera crew led by Alexander Balitsky was heading for the Republic of Moldova to cover the elections in Gagauzia. The border guards of Moldova did not allow the Russian crew to enter the country alleging that it could not confirm the purpose of its visit.

On 9 April 2015, the camera crew of Zvezda channel led by Alexey Golovko was detained at the airport of

Kishinev, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, and was expelled from the country. The pretext for denied entry was the absence of documents clarifying the purpose of the visit.

On 19 April 2015, the camera crew of TVC channel arrived in Kishinev. After a TVC employee’s ID was found during the body search of cameraman Gennady Kuznetsov, he was denied entry. After five hours of interrogation a similar decision was made with regard to correspondent Artyom Shirokov. Formally the decision was motivated by a lack of information about the purpose of their visit and about a place of stay in the country.

Mr Pushkov,

To ask the Committee of Ministers,

Regarding these actions as impeding journalists’ activities, will the Committee of Ministers evaluate the correspondence of the actions by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova with the principles of freedom of the media, as well as their inadmissible practice of abusing the existing rules and regulations stipulating the procedure of entering the country?

Financing assured: YES

DRAFT DECISIONS

1227th meeting – 12 May 2015

Item 3.2e

Written Questions by members of the Parliamentary Assembly to the Committee of Ministers

e.         Written Question No. 686 by Mr Alexey Pushkov: “Systemic violations of journalists’ rights by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova”

Decisions

The Deputies

1.         instructed the Secretariat to prepare a draft reply to Written Question No. 686 in light of the views expressed at the present meeting;

2.         agreed to resume consideration of this question at one of their forthcoming meetings.