Moscow urges the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, Harlem Desir, to stick to his mandate, while commenting on the country's measures to fight terrorism, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday
YALTA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th April, 2019) Moscow urges the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, Harlem Desir, to stick to his mandate, while commenting on the country's measures to fight terrorism, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.In late March, Russia's Federal Security Service carried out a counterterrorism operation in Crimea. As many as 23 people were detained as a result over suspected links to Hizb ut-Tahrir terrorist organization (banned in Russia). Three more suspects were detained in the Rostov Region and transferred to Crimea. On Wednesday, Desir commented on the detention of individuals, calling three of them Osman Arifmemetov, Rustem Sheikhaliyev and Remzi Bekirov citizen journalists. Desir also urged Russia to release them.
"We do not understand what the OSCE representative on freedom of the media had in mind, speaking about those detained on charges of terrorism as about citizen journalists. We are puzzled by this reaction, we will certainly ask the organization this question, and we will send relevant materials and explain to this high-ranking official that such assessments and such materials do not correspond to his mandate," Zakharova said.
The spokeswoman recalled that Russia did not recognize an expanded interpretation of the concept of journalist in this context, adding that the status of a media employee was acquired under the Russian law and in accordance with professional activities.
"We urge Mr. Desir to act within his mandate and to be more careful in assessing incidents of this kind, especially those associated with such a serious international threat as terrorism," Zakharova stressed.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is a transnational, pan-Islamic, radical organization, outlawed in China, Egypt, Germany, Russia, Turkey, and several other countries since mid-2015. It is active in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Syria, and Tunisia, among other countries.
