Archive - 12/7/2007

«The detention of the Russian journalists by the Georgian policemen was illegal. However, for the Georgian side the main thing was to demonstrate its authority and neglect to the peacemakers, as well as to the journalists, that try to present the objective picture of the events », so Irina Gagloeva, the chairman of the state committee on information and press of RSO, has commented on the detention of the Russian journalists.

Under the specified information, the journalists of the TV channel "Russia" have been detained today at 11:40am by the employees of the Kurta department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia while preparation of a material about the activity of JPKF. The absence of Georgian visas by the journalists has served as an official occasion for detention. However, the journalists worked in the zone of the conflict at presence of the representatives of the press-service of JPKF and according to the legal regulations of work of a journalist in the zone of the conflict. As they have informed at the press-service of JPKF, there was an arrangement on shooting with the Georgian observers of the peace-making battalion. The Georgian side has undertaken a false arrest of the Russian journalists Andrey Chistjakov and Igor Sturita.

As we have been informed at the Embassy of Russia in Georgia the question with the detained journalists of the TV channel "Russia" is solved at present. They are delivered to consular group, and in the nearest hours they will be in Tskhinval.