GLASNOST DEFENSE FOUNDATION'S DIGEST No.155 (October 27, 2003)

Ukraine - Crimean Autonomous Republic. Who masterminds campaign of persecution against prose writer and journalist Mark Agatov?

The Glasnost Defense Foundation has received this letter from Mark Agatov, one of the Crimea's most respected veteran journalists and author of numerous journalistic investigations.

"Ladies and Gentlemen,

"The circumstances in which I am finding myself as a member of the Journalists' Union of Russia (membership card # 39447) and the International Association of Writers' Unions (membership card # 365), have caused me to turn for help to the Glasnost Defense Foundation.

"The Crimean authorities represented by Sergey Kunitsyn, Premier of the Government of the Crimean Autonomous Republic, have subjected me to persecution for publishing the book 'Premier Kunitsyn and His Team' which includes the findings of my own journalistic investigations and critical articles by my colleagues describing the unseemly behavior of the Crimean Premier and his cronies.

"Right after the release of the book I began receiving threatening messages, and then the head of a construction company heavily financed from the state budget lodged an honor and dignity defense claim against me. The pro-government newspaper Krymskaya Gazeta wrote a libelous article about me. In violation of the Ukrainian Copyright Law, the newspaper disclosed the secret of my pen name without my consent.

"Since I spent the past ten years investigating high-resonance crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, including pre-ordered assassinations (after the publication of my findings in the local and Russian press, more than ten criminals were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment), I view the disclosure of my pen name as a real threat to my personal integrity. You can add to this the 'friendly request' of one of the top-ranking Crimean officials that I leave Premier Kunitsyn alone.

"I openly stated my intention to continue my journalistic investigations. On the same day's night, a heavy stone was thrown through the window of my third-floor apartment. But Kunitsyn and his team did not stop at that. On August 13, 2003, Sergey Kunitsyn filed a lawsuit with the court of Yevpatoria, demanding that the book 'Premier Kunitsyn and His Team' be banned for sale and confiscated. According to unofficial information at my disposal, he offered USD 20,000 to have the court decide the case in his favor.

"Clearly, one can hardly hope for a fair court decision in Ukraine under the circumstances. Finding myself in an emergency situation, I decided to request assistance and information support from my Russian colleagues.

"Please find enclosed two documents from the case file: my representative's address to the court of Yevpatoria and my own statement for the media. An electronic version of the book 'Premier Kunitsyn and His Team' is available on my web sites at: http://www.agatow.narod.ru/, and http://www.krymchaki.com/ .

"Sincerely,
Mark Agatov, journalist".

Excerpts from Crimean Web Media Reports on the Conflict:

"Court hearings have continued in Yevpatoria of a lawsuit filed by the Crimean Premier against the prose writer and journalist Mark Agatov. The plaintiff demands that the court 'pass a decision forbidding the defendant, as well as any other distributors of the controversial book, to take any action aimed at distributing the book by any possible means'. Mr. Agatov does not recognize the validity of the Premier's argumentation; he insists that the book was published absolutely legally, while Mr. Kunitsyn's claims are ungrounded and signal the Crimean authorities' attempt to prosecute a journalist for censuring their performance. This viewpoint is shared by Mr. Agatov's representative, Kiev-based lawyer Vyacheslav Yakubenko.

"Mark Agatov has requested that Premier Kunitsyn be invited to personally attend the next court hearing and explain to the author what specifically he disagrees with in the book. However, the plaintiff's representatives spoke against Mr. Kunitsyn's personal questioning in court and demanded that the sale of the book 'Premier Kunitsyn and His Team' be suspended until the end of the hearings. They promised to provide bail so as to compensate for the author's losses in the event of their losing the case in court.

"Mr. Agatov said he would accept the offer only if Mr. Kunitsyn's bail were worth at least USD 1 million. 'This is the minimum cost of the freedom of expression in the Crimea,' he said. 'I am determined to get the case decided fairly - if not here in the Crimea or Kiev, then by the European Human Rights Court. The million-dollar bail could then be used for purposes of creating a foundation to defend Crimean journalists' rights.'

"'If the court rules to arrest the book, I as a law-abiding citizen will send a copy of that decision, together with materials describing the persecution of journalists in the Crimea, to the same addressees to whom I have already sent the book: to Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, the heads of Ukrainian Parliament and Cabinet of Ministers, foreign diplomats, the editors of Ukraine's and Russia's leading newspapers, and human rights organizations,' Mark Agatov said.

"Lawyer Vyacheslav Yakubenko, representing the international organization IREX Pro Media, has said that 'any actions aimed at banning the book for sale will be deemed unlawful and subject to appealing against to the higher-standing courts, including the European Human Rights Court'. Mr. Yakubenko pointed out that the defendant had so far failed to persuade the judges of the need to invite Sergey Kunitsyn to personally attend the hearings: 'We cannot quite understand the subject matter of his claims which are at odds with Ukrainian and international laws. Judging by the text of his complaint signed by proxy by his lawyers, Mr. Kunitsyn is trying - in defiance of Article 54 of the Ukrainian Constitution - to instruct the author how to arrange the book's materials or which illustrations to include.'

"'Moreover, the plaintiff insists - without any legal grounds therefor - that the book 'Premier Kunitsyn and His Team' should be banned for sale long before the court has passed a decision resolving the conflict,' Mr. Yakubenko went on to say. 'As of now, I have no information proving that Mr. Kunitsyn may try to exert some kind of pressure on the judges. Even if he does, we will get a fair decision passed on our case by a higher-standing court or even by the European Human Rights Court. Actually, the importance of this 'book's trial' goes far beyond the Crimean borders. What it is all about are such basic rights of the individual as the freedom to create, the freedom of expression, and the journalist's right to criticize high-ranking government officials.'"