Watchdog

A senior Nagorno-Karabakh official said he has asked authorities in Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region to improve conditions for a local Armenian-born journalist detained there, RFE/RL's Armenian and Moldovan services report.

Ernest Vardanean, a 33-year-old freelancer for the Transdniester news agency Novy Region 2, was arrested on April 7 at his home in the unrecognized republic's capital, Tiraspol.

He is accused of spying and could be sentenced to between 12 and 20 years in prison if found guilty.

Yuri Hayrapetian, Nagorno-Karabakh's human rights ombudsman, said in Stepanakert that Vardanean's relatives are concerned that he is sick and not being fed properly in prison. They also told him that Vardanean has been denied access to a lawyer they hired.

The Moldovan government has condemned Vardanean's arrest, as have numerous human rights and media associations, including Reporters Without Borders.

Acting Moldovan President Mihai Ghimpu promised last week to seek international support for his release.

U.S. Ambassador to Moldova Asif J. Chaudhry told RFE/RL's Moldovan Service that he has raised concerns about the case with Transdniester's self-styled president, Igor Smirnov.

Transdniester's official news agency, Olvia Press, reported that Smirnov promised Vardanean will have "a fair trial."

Meanwhile, the journalist's parents appealed for assistance to authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh, which maintains ties with Transdniester. The two self-proclaimed republics regard each other as independent states.

Vardanean was born in Gyumri, Armenia, but moved with his parents to Moldova after the massive earthquake in 1988. He has Moldovan citizenship and the unrecognized citizenship of the Transdniester region.

The co-chair of the advocacy group Mothers of Daghestan for Human Rights, Svetlana Isayeva, says her organization will file a lawsuit against the daily "Komsomolskaya pravda" for publishing the photographs of 22 women who law-enforcement officials say could potentially become suicide bombers.

Isayeva made her announcement on RFE/RL's Russian Service's talk show "Chas Pressy" (Press Time) with Yelena Rykovtseva on April 20. (You can listen to the full program in Russian here and read the full transcript here.)

"We are going to sue," Isayeva said. "I can't speak for the other women who had their photographs published, but our organization will file a lawsuit against 'Komsomolskaya pravda.'"

Among the 22 women whose photographs were published was Gulnara Rustamova, the other co-chair of Mothers of Daghestan for Human Rights.

Speaking on the same program, "Komsomolskaya pravda" correspondent Aleksandr Kots defended the newspaper's publication of the photographs, saying the information came from law-enforcement officials in Daghestan.

"We did not call them potential terrorists. We said they are women who are under the surveillance of the law-enforcement bodies in Daghestan," Kots said. "We did not say that they are potential suicide bombers. We just said the law-enforcement agencies are watching these women."

Following the March 29 attacks on the Moscow subway, when two female suicide bombers killed dozens of rush-hour commuters, law enforcement has indeed been paying close attention to the widows and sisters of militants killed by Russian forces in the volatile North Caucasus region.

Dubbed the "Black Widows," women who lost male relatives in fighting in the North Caucasus have participated in a series of terrorist attacks in Russia in recent years, including attacks on airliners, the Moscow metro, and a rock concert.

But critics say the April 9 publication in "Komsomolskaya pravda" was a step too far. Speaking on the same program, attorney Yury Kostanov accused Kots of reviving the Stalin-era practice of guilt by association.

"Back in 1937, the family members of accused traitors were shot just because they were family members," Kostanov said. "Thank you for reviving this glorious tradition."

-- Brian Whitmore