Press Releases

Statement on Internews Russia/Educated Media Foundation

by Internews Network

(April 24, 2007) Internews Network, a non-profit organization based in California, is deeply concerned about the April 18 Russian police seizure of documents and computer servers from the Moscow headquarters of our long-time partner, Educated Media Foundation (until recently known as Internews Russia), and the criminal charges being brought against its president, Manana Aslamazyan. As a result, Educated Media Foundation has been forced to temporarily suspend its activities in support of the professional development of Russian media.

On their return from a private trip in January, Aslamazyan and a colleague, Gillian McCormack, the head of Internews Europe's Moscow office, were detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport for neglecting to declare the cash they were carrying on a customs declaration form. The amount of cash they were carrying was legal; their mistake was only in not listing it on the form. Amounts over $10,000 must be declared; Aslamazyan was carrying 9,500 Euros. Euros are frequently used in Russia as the standard unit of exchange, and she hadn't remembered that the customs rules were still based on dollars. McCormack was carrying a little over 10,000 Euros. Such errors by returning travelers are typically treated as an administrative violation; it is unclear to us how a single such infraction by individuals could justify the eleven-hour raid on the Educated Media Foundation and Internews Europe offices by 20 officers of Russia's Department of Economic Security and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the filing of criminal charges against Aslamazyan and McCormack.

Educated Media Foundation/Internews Russia has worked in Russia for over ten years to support the development of Russia's media sector and the professionalization of Russian regional journalists. Through its Moscow-based journalism school and its many seminars and other educational activities around the country, the organization has trained over 15,000 media professionals; last year alone it worked with nearly 500 Russian radio and TV stations. The organization has previously received public praise from Russian government officials for its high level of compliance with Russia's complex financial and legal requirements for NGOs.

Manana Aslamazyan is an authority on the Russian television industry and a deeply respected figure in the Russian media community. She has served as an expert to the Russian Duma Committee on Information Policy and on the jury of numerous competitions and grant review panels. She is a member of the board of the Paris-based Internews International, which unites local Internews organizations around the world, and is a board member of Internews Europe and Internews Network. In 2000, she was selected by the RF Ministry of Information to join the broadcast TV licensing commission. More recently, Aslamazyan played a key role in organizing the Russian-American Media Entrepreneurship Dialogue, which brought together top print and broadcast media professionals from the US and Russia, who met with President Vladimir Putin.

An online petition to President Putin has so far been signed by some 700 members* of the Russian media community from all over the country, requesting that he intervene to prevent a miscarriage of justice against Educated Media Foundation/Internews Russia and Aslamazyan.  

Internews Network has had long-standing plans to honor Aslamazyan for her contributions to Russian media at our 25th anniversary celebration on May 3, World Press Freedom Day. We salute this beloved and respected colleague and her organization, and we offer our colleagues in Moscow our unconditional support in this difficult time for them and for the future of Russian media.

Internews Network
Arcata, California
April 24, 2007

NOTE: While Internews Russia/Educated Media Foundation initially grew out of work begun by Internews Network (USA) in Russia in 1992, it has been an independent Russian registered organization for over 10 years. It continues to participate in professional partnerships with Internews Network as it does with many other organizations in Russia and around the world. Both organizations are founding members of Internews International, which is based in Paris.

* Hundreds more have since signed the letter; see the Russian version for the current list of signatories.