vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #163 / Opinion / Reading article...

It’s hard to know what to make of the recent police seizure and release of three newspapers, but whatever happened, it was at very least a blunder by the police. And there is the alarming possibility someone higher up gave the order.

The problem is a long-standing one. Dalpress and Vladimir Shkrabov, publisher of Krasnoye Znamya, have clashed for years over who owns the building at 10 Krasnovo Znameni Avenue, which is an office building for newspapers and wire services (it was once the Vladivostok News’ home). But Shkrabov co-owns a printing press there which serves as a center for criticism of the krai administration. We don’t pretend to be conversant with the arcane twists and counter-twists of previous court decisions in the case. Both sides say there have been decisions on their side. But last week, Dalpress sealed the doors to Shkrabov and his allies, acting on what they said was a court order.

Things got interesting, however, when Shkrabov’s side cut a hole into the press room March 16 and printed 11,000 copies of three newspapers (Shkrabov and his allies are now evasive about whether he personally was there). Two of them – Krasnoye Znamya and Dalyokaya Okraina – are strong critics of Gov. Yevgeny Nazdratenko. Indeed, the press is co-owned by the office of Mayor Victor Cherepkov, a Nazdratenko opponent, and it prints his newspaper.

The police seized all of the papers, though they released them the next afternoon. Shkrabov’s side say police are trying to silence them.

We don’t know whether Shkrabov’s press should be in the building. We don’t know if the krai ordered the raid (police deny it, and Shkrabov’s side has presented no evidence). But whether or not the closure of the press and seizure of the papers was an attempt at harassment, it was a serious mistake. If it was a political act, it is alarming. If not, it only creates the impression that the cops have taken sides – something they insist isn’t true. Freedom of the press suffers when cops start seizing papers.