Pskov Police Deport Latvian Journalists

Staff Writer

Published: May 13, 2005 (Issue # 1069)

Pskov police have deported a three-member Latvian television crew, inflaming tensions between Latvia and Russia.

Police in the northwestern region detained the crew from Latvian Television as they were filming Victory Day celebrations on Monday. After questioning them, police ordered them to leave the country, even though they had obtained accreditation from the Russian Foreign Ministry and violated no laws, the Latvian Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry sent a note of protest to Moscow on Tuesday, saying, "Such incidents do not help improve the image of Russia as a country where press freedom is observed."

LTV journalist Ivo Kirsblats, cameraman Maris Jurgensons and driver Eriks Pakalns said in a statement Wednesday that the Pskov police officers forced them to erase footage they had filmed in the region's Pytalovo district. The district was carved out of Latvia and made part of the Pskov region after World War II.

The crew also said the windshield of their car was smashed while they were questioned inside a Pskov police station.

Pskov police said the journalists were detained because they filmed a Pytalovo railroad junction near the Russian-Latvian border without permission. A senior Pytalovo official, Yury Russky, said the law required authorization to film within 5 kilometers of the border.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has asked Pskov authorities for an "official explanation," Interfax reported.

Moscow's relations with the Baltic states are strained amid disputes over borders and history. Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Chizhov told the BBC on Monday that Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus was "the only living head of state who has fought on the Germans' side."

The Lithuanian foreign minister said Tuesday that Adamkus had fought "with the Lithuanian partisans against the Soviet occupation."