MOSCOW, August 21 (RIA Novosti) - The United States has no information about the whereabouts of Rossiya Segodnya photojournalist Andrei Stenin, who went missing on August 5 while working in eastern Ukraine, US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
“We are unable to confirm his current whereabouts or the facts surrounding his disappearance. We do call on all parties to ensure the safety of journalists working in the region, but can’t confirm more specifics about where he’s located,” Harf said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it had no information about Stenin, who was covering clashes between Kiev-led forces and independence supporters in Donetsk, Slaviansk and other eastern Ukrainian cities.
The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council also said Wednesday it had no information about the fate of the Russian journalist.
Earlier this month, Anton Herashchenko, an aide to the Ukrainian interior minister, said in an interview with Baltkom radio that security forces had arrested Stenin on charges of “assisting terrorists.”
Later Herashchenko claimed he was misinterpreted, saying he only assumed the photographer had been detained but had no precise information.
A number of international organizations and press associations across the world, including OSCE, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots in Argentina, the Mexican Press Club and many others condemned the abduction of Stenin and demanded his immediate release.
Moreover, several international campaigns to support the Rossiya Segodnya photographer were held internationally. On Tuesday, some 100 cars took part in a flash mob in Madrid. As part of the campaign, the participants put leaflets with the #freeAndrew hashtag on their cars. The vehicles with the leaflets are expected to drive around Madrid and its suburbs for two days.
Last week, scores of Stenin’s colleagues gathered on Tuesday afternoon outside the premises of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency to protest the photographer’s detention following Kiev’s confession to the abduction. The event was held in the news agency’s courtyard, where a large chalk inscription #FREEANDREW was made on the asphalt.
The Russian Orthodox Church is also concerned about the disappearance of the journalist. On Wednesday, Hegumen Nikon (Golovko) read a prayer in the Donskoy Monastery, Moscow, for the health of Stenin. Several dozen people, journalists, colleagues, friends and acquaintances of Stenin attended the service at the Grand Cathedral of the monastery.
Russia has already filed two diplomatic notes to Ukraine over Stenin’s case urging Kiev to comment on Herashchenko’s statement but his location still remains unknown. The photographer is now on the Ukrainian militia’s missing persons list.
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.
