|
By Russell Working
Responding to charges it abandoned a journalist it worked with, NHK television said Dec. 1 that Captain Grigory Pasko was also a stringer for other media and that it isn't clear whether his treason arrest stems from the work he did for NHK. Both the Asahi daily and NHK, or Nippon Hoso Kyokai (Japanese Broadcasting Corporation), paid the navy journalist Pasko for information they used in stories on the dumping of nuclear waste in the Sea of Japan. But the Moscow Times, Pasko's wife Galina Morozova, and others have criticized NHK for failing to support the reporter after his arrest on charges of high treason Nov. 20, 1997. In its statement, issued in response to an interview request from the Vladivostok News, NHK also noted that Pasko is suing the broadcaster, alleging it used his materials for a program "The Russian Army's Dumping of Nuclear Waste into the Sea" without consulting him. NHK says that in fact it did obtain permission. The statement was released the week after a military collegium of the Supreme Court on Nov. 25 denied a motion by Pasko's lawyers asking that he be released from jail. Morozova, Pasko's wife, this week blasted NHK, which has a bureau in Vladivostok, for doing nothing for her husband. NHK "comes to press conferences and asks questions, but they never cover this case," Morozova said. "And I think it's an attitude of betrayal." NHK didn't send any staff cover the Oct. 14 opening of Pasko's trial, which was heavily covered by Russian newspapers. And the Moscow Times an Oct. 21 editorial compared Pasko to Alexander Nikitin, a St. Petersburg naval captain who was charged with treason after documenting the Russian navy's negligence with nuclear waste. But while Nikitin has been championed by Amnesty International and the U.S. White House, Pasko's biggest defenders have been organizations that defend authors and journalists. The Moscow Times stated that Nikitin has "fiery and loyal Norwegian environmentalists on his side and happened to live in St. Petersburg; while the other [Pasko] is from Vladivostok and allied with a timid state-run Japanese television station." Asked by the Vladivostok News whether it had ever protested Pasko's arrest, contributed legal fees, or offered medical help for the ailing reporter, NHK implied that these may not be its responsibilities. "The questions you have asked are on the on the basis that Captain Pasko was charged for an action during his work for NHK," NHK stated. "So far, however, this point has not been clarified, and we do not know and have not been informed by the Russian authorities or by Captain Pasko himself of the reason for his arrest. So we cannot say that this is the same case as Alexander Nikitin." NHK suggested that Pasko hasn't yet provided the broadcaster with enough information in order for it to help. "If Captain Pasko is willing to clarify these points above for his defense, NHK is willing to respond sincerely," NHK stated. Morozova and Pasko's lawyers say his health is deteriorating. He has a heart condition, a bad back, and may have contracted tuberculosis in the overcrowded, poorly heated cell he shares with criminal defendants. Tuberculosis is widespread in Russian jails. Fleet officials and prosecutors have refused to comment on the case.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in any form.
|