Russian Tape of Prisoner Trade Spurs Doubts

The Russian government released a video Friday purporting to show its transfer of detained Radio Liberty correspondent Andrei Babitsky to Chechen rebels, but the tape only raised new questions about the unorthodox hand-over.

The heavily edited videotape shows Babitsky, a Russian citizen employed by the U.S. government-funded radio network, being marched down a country road by armed Russian soldiers and handed over to another armed man wearing camouflage clothing and a mask.

Moscow has said it traded the journalist Thursday to Chechen separatists for three Russian soldiers, including one released earlier that day. The videotape shows two soldiers and a third man--apparently someone in a position of authority--suddenly appearing and walking casually down the road, passing Babitsky and his guards to join the group of Russians. The video did not show Russian soldiers in captivity or Chechen rebels releasing anyone.

More than 30 hours after the exchange was said to have taken place, Babitsky still had not contacted his family, his office or his attorneys. Chechen authorities said they had no confirmation that any rebel units had exchanged any prisoners for Babitsky.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB--the main successor to the KGB--which handles domestic intelligence duties, acknowledged shooting and producing the videotape but denied orchestrating the exchange. It was unclear when the video was shot, but there was no dispute that the man it depicted is Babitsky.

“He looks terrible, and it certainly does not inspire confidence,” said Jeff Trimble, director of broadcasting for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. “We remain extremely concerned about his welfare. We cannot understand how the authorities of any country could turn over a citizen of that country to men in masks who are called by that country terrorists.”

As international outrage over Russia’s handling of the case mounted, Babitsky’s supporters and co-workers worried that the videotape and purported prisoner exchange were attempts to cover up an even worse fate for Babitsky, who had been held incommunicado since he was arrested by Russian forces near Grozny in mid-January.

“I have the worst feeling about this,” said Savik Shuster, Radio Liberty’s Moscow bureau chief. “I think that if he was truly on Chechen territory with the commanders of bandit groups now, the first thing he would try to do would be to get on the air and tell his story. I am afraid he was killed.”

Throughout the six-month conflict, Russia has sought to limit media access to the war zone and prevent negative coverage that would undermine public support for the war. Only journalists approved by the government were allowed entry to the region--and Babitsky was not one of them. At least 10 other journalists representing foreign news organizations have been detained in Chechnya and flown to Moscow.

Babitsky traveled to Grozny, the war-ravaged capital of Chechnya, without official permission and broadcast reports that the government found offensive. After he left the city around Jan. 16 Russian forces arrested him and accused him of aiding the rebels. As evidence, they cited passes signed by rebel commanders allowing him to travel in Chechen-held territory.

Russian officials claim that Babitsky wanted to be transferred to the rebels with whom he was allied and that he signed a letter Monday approving the prisoner exchange.

Col. Gen. Valery L. Manilov, deputy chief of the Russian general staff, could barely contain his contempt for the correspondent he called an “errant sheep.”

“We are not indifferent to his fate,” Manilov told reporters. “Simply, it is a bitter realization that one of our citizens prefers to stay among those who use terrorist, bandit, criminal methods to accomplish their ideas of dividing Russia, breaking up its territorial integrity and enslaving the whole people living on the territory of the Chechen Republic and impairing the security of the rest of the multinational population of Russia.”

A 10-year veteran of the U.S.-funded network, Babitsky was known for his boldness. At one point during the brutal 1994-96 Chechen war he volunteered to become a hostage in place of Russian civilians held by the rebels.

In a daring raid on the Russian town of Budyonnovsk, the rebels had seized hundreds of hostages. The government negotiated a truce, and Babitsky was among more than a dozen journalists who traded places with the hostages and traveled with the escaping rebels into Chechnya.

While the incident has parallels to Thursday’s purported prisoner exchange, Trimble noted that any approval Babitsky might have given for a trade came under duress and after he had been held for many days without contact with the outside world.

At the start of the video, Babitsky is shown standing by two vehicles holding a small piece of luggage and a heavy coat. He looks extremely downcast--not as if he is about to be granted his wish to join the rebels. He tells someone off-camera that he spent the night sleeping in a military van and asks that the camera be turned off.

When ordered to move, he walks unaided down the road until he reaches the masked man, who roughly grabs his arm. Another armed man wearing a mask briefly appears in the background. After that, nothing further is shown of Babitsky--not even his departure from the area.

“Yes, it is Andrei on the video without doubt, but he looks very strange,” said Babitsky’s wife, Lyudmila. “There is such a look in his eye I have never seen before. And who are these people in masks? How do I know they are Chechens? How do I know where the footage was taken and when?”

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and the Russian organization Memorial, criticized Russia’s handling of the case and said they feared for Babitsky’s safety. In Moscow, members of a U.S. congressional delegation expressed concern about the alleged prisoner exchange. The U.S. State Department said it had formally requested clarification from Moscow.

“The apparent trading of Radio Liberty journalist Andrei Babitsky for Russian soldiers in Chechnya is impossible to understand and raises serious questions about Russia’s adherence to its international commitments regarding the treatment of noncombatants,” a State Department spokeswoman said.

The growing controversy concerning Babitsky came as the Russian military reported progress in its effort to seize Grozny.

Manilov said that federal troops had killed far more than 10,000 rebels and that only 1,000 Islamic fighters remain in Grozny. An additional 6,000 to 7,000 rebels have taken up positions in the Caucasus Mountains, where they are being pursued by Russian forces, he said.

The Russians reported that they had raised their flag over the Grozny residence of Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov, a rebel leader. The war is proceeding so well, Manilov said, that the army is making plans to withdraw some forces. He did not specify a date.