Berlin, August 29, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Russia’s recent launch of a spate of criminal investigations into foreign journalists reporting on the Ukrainian army’s advance into Russia’s Kursk region.
Since the Ukrainian army started its incursion on August 6, Russian authorities have opened probes into seven foreign journalists accompanying Ukrainian forces to report on the conflict in the western town of Sudzha, accusing them of illegally crossing the border.
“The prosecution of the journalists covering an important development in the Russian-Ukraine war is another assault on press freedom,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator, in New York. “These reporters were performing their essential role of informing the public about the ongoing conflict. It is imperative that Russian authorities allow journalists to report on the war from within the conflict zone without the threat of prosecution.”
Over a 10-day period from August 17 to 27, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced investigations into the following journalists and outlets:
- Deutsche Welle correspondent Nick Connolly and Ukrainian journalist Natalia Nahorna of the “1+1” national Ukrainian TV channel.
- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN’s chief international security correspondent, and Olesya Borovyk and Diana Butsko, reporters with independent Ukrainian broadcaster Hromadske.
- Unnamed Washington Post reporters who visited Sudzha on August 17 accompanied by Ukrainian military personnel. An August 18 Washington Post report said that Siobhán O’Grady, Tetiana Burianova and photographer Ed Ram had traveled to Ukrainian-held territory in Russia.
- Italian public broadcaster RAI journalists Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini.
The charge of illegally crossing the Russian border carries a prison sentence of up to five years, according to the Russian criminal code. The FSB said those under investigation will be placed on an international wanted list.
CPJ did not receive a response to an email requesting comment on the investigations from Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
Editor’s note: The first bullet point was updated to correct the characterization of the TV channel.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
Committee to Protect Journalists | Radio Free (2024-08-29T16:04:13+00:00) Russia retaliates against foreign journalists covering Ukraine advance into Kursk. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/29/russia-retaliates-against-foreign-journalists-covering-ukraine-advance-into-kursk/
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