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Public coalition For Morality urges journalist community to assess Moskovsky Komsomolets article

They are convinced that several allegations in the article "insult the women – all women of Russia" and show "the humiliation of human dignity"

MOSCOW, March 17 (Itar-Tass) – The public coalition “For Morality” came out in protection of the State Duma deputies and urged the journalist community to give an assessment to a notorious article in the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily.

The public coalition has made an open address to Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika, Chairman of the Russian Investigation Committee Alexander Bastrykin and Chief Editor of the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily Pavel Gusev. The public activists voiced confidence in the address that the allegations, which the article titled “The political prostitution changed the sex” contains, “are insulting”, and the article “consists of just blatant rude violations of the journalist ethics.” They are convinced that several allegations in the article “insult the women – all women of Russia” and show “the humiliation of human dignity.”

“We believe that the whole journalist community should give an assessment to this case, as the latter are mostly interested in the observance of ethical and professional standards of their work,” the address reads. The text of the address was posted at the website of the public coalition. Meanwhile, its authors believe that Pavel Gusev should be suspended “as the chairman of the Union of Moscow Journalists and the Public Chamber committee for the support of media during the investigation.”

The public coalition also asked the law enforcement agencies to conduct an inquiry and give a legal assessment to the published information about alleged “unlawful actions by Pavel Gusev,” particularly the allegations that he “escaped justice in the meantime, when he used a gun against the law enforcers.”

The foresaid article was published in the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily at the end of the previous week. On Friday evening, Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Labour and Social Policy from United Russia Andrei Isayev has made harsh statements in his microblog over the notorious article in the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily, in which United Russia deputies Irina Yarovaya, Yekaterina Lakhova and Olga Batalina were mentioned. In particular, Isayev, pledged that “the concrete editor and the author of the article will bear a tough responsibility.” Isayev told Itar-Tass later that he does not regret “absolutely” about his Twitter postings and finds them as “a correct, natural and normal response to public insults of women.”

Moskovsky Komsomolets Chief Editor Pavel Gusev stated that he will file the unmasking documents against Isayev in the Prosecutor General’s Office. “I am very embarrassed with Isayev’s response, as the latter marred the newspaper, in which he is an author. He has made numerous publications in our newspaper, expressing his point of view,” Gusev stated at the website of the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily. “There are no insults against the women deputies from the United Russia Party in the article “The political prostitution changed the sex”, but it dwells on the details of their political career.” “I as the chairman of the Union of Moscow Journalists and the head of the Public Chamber committee for the protection of the freedom of speech will submit the documents, which can protect the journalists of our newspaper, in the Prosecutor General’s Office and several other institutions,” Gusev stated.

Opera singer of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre Larisa Kurdyumova believes that today the journalists should weigh out carefully their words addressing to their readers.

“A person, who is a mouthpiece, and the media people are the orators in some sense of the word, all these people bear a much higher responsibility (than ordinary people). One should remember about this responsibility. Each mouthpiece should think over where he will be leading people to,” Kurdyumova told Itar-Tass.

Meanwhile, in her view, the attention of the readers should be rather drawn to positive and moral values.

The public coalition “For Morality” poses itself as a public union, which is combating the violations of the rights of people and “the rights of our children” and called for the protection of morality and the preservation of the Russian historical and cultural heritage.