Russia: Federal Security Services seek prosecution of foreign journalists
Russian authorities seeking to silence journalists in their coverage of the war have brought charges against British, Ukrainian and Italian journalists.
The National Union of Journalists has joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in opposing criminal cases against multiple journalists by Russian authorities.
British reporter Nick Paton Walsh, Ukrainian correspondents Olesya Nikolaevna Borovik, Diana Vladimirovna Butsko and Italian journalists Stefania Battistini and cameraman Simone Traini are being investigated by Russia’s Federal Security Services (FSB) for illegally crossing the Russian-Ukrainian border in Sudzha, the Kursk region in western Russia.
If found guilty, the journalists could face up to five years in prison and the FSB has announced they will soon be placed on an international wanted list.
On 17 August, reports by the Russian News Agency TASS indicated the FSB state security service had opened a criminal case against Battistini and Traini who took video footage in Sudzha. The journalists escorted by Ukrainian military were the first to report the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region, starting on 6 August.
On 22 August, security services opened the criminal case against Walsh, who is also the CNN’s International Security Editor, following an assessment of visual materials allegedly proving the presence of a British reporter in Sudzha. Borovik and Butsko are both prosecuted on the same charges.
Italian journalists Battistini and Traini arrived in Italy on 18 August ensuring their safety, following a broadcast on the Italian public broadcaster RAI, showing them driving in the region accompanied by Ukrainian military.
The NUJ and IFJ reject charges brought against the journalists and urge an end to efforts by Russian authorities to silence and censor.
Anthony Bellanger, IFJ general secretary, said:
“We utterly reject the charges brought by Russian authorities against foreign journalists for simply doing their job. Bringing legal action against and prosecuting foreign journalists to intimidate and silence them shows Russia’s desperation to control the war’s narrative beyond its borders. We stand in full solidarity with prosecuted journalists and urge the Russian government to halt its tactics involving journalists for political ends.”