CPJ Calls for International Inquiry in Cameraman’s Disappearance :: Charter'97 :: News

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) – a New York–based, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the defense of press freedom worldwide – called on March 28 for an independent, international inquiry into the July 2000 disappearance of Belarusian cameraman Dmitry Zavadsky.

Although two former members of the elite Almaz special forces unit were recently convicted of kidnapping Zavadsky, local sources view them as scapegoats. CPJ is disturbed that state prosecutors failed to investigate allegations that high-level government figures were involved in Zavadsky’s disappearance. (Zavadsky’s body has not yet been found, and no serious effort has been made to determine his fate.)

“This trial failed to examine credible allegations of a government role in Zavadsky’s disappearance, or to clarify the journalist’s fate following his abduction,” said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. “We believe that only an independent, international investigation can determine what happened to Zavadsky and who is responsible for his disappearance.

“We call on Belarusian authorities, in cooperation with the Zavadsky family and their lawyers, to invite a panel of international and regional human rights experts to conduct an independent investigation of this case with full access to all relevant evidence,” Cooper said.

“The expert panel should be mandated to produce a report containing specific recommendations for future legal actions to be taken in connection with the Zavadsky case, in accordance with Belarusian and international law,” Cooper added.