MOSCOW, August 21 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian authorities should clarify the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of International Information Agency Rossiya Segodnya photographer Andrei Stenin, State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin said Thursday.
“The Kiev authorities keep silent, ignoring all the requests submitted by Russia and the demands of Russian and international communities, although there are reasons to assume that Kiev could shed some light on our journalist’s fate,” Naryshkin said.
Naryshkin deemed it strange that this situation does not bother “our Western colleagues,” pointing out that the barbaric murder of US journalist James Foley by the Islamic State caused a global outrage.
“Russia offers sincere condolences and grieves with the family of the journalist,” Naryshkin said.
The State Duma deputy noted that there was a growing sense of impunity in the world that spreads like a disease, devaluating human life and people’s rights.
“The reaction of certain Western politicians to blatant crimes is quite selective: we see this, but turn a blind eye to that. Look at what is happening in Europe, in Ukraine. One of the most outrageous examples is the disappearance of Andrei Stenin,” Naryshkin added.
Since August 5, Stenin’s colleagues have been unable to reach him. Previously he had been working in the troubled southeastern regions of Ukraine. Reports suggest that the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) in the Zaporizhia Region in southern Ukraine had detained the photographer, but Kiev denied such information.
The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council said Wednesday the fate of the journalist is still not known.
Please support Andrei Stenin’s release by sharing the hashtag #FreeAndrew in social networks. Andrei is a professional war photographer reporting from the most dangerous war zones in the world. You can view Andrei’s pictures from Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Libya here and his most recent shots from eastern Ukraine here.
