U.S. Actions Against Russian Reporters Violate Freedom of Information: Zakharova
Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, 2004. X/ @Darwin_f1978
October 30, 2024 Hour: 10:57 am
Izvestia journalists were detained upon their arrival in the United States on October 29.
On Wednesday, Russian Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov condemned as unacceptable the detention in the United States of a group of Russian journalists who had traveled to the country to cover the presidential elections on November 5.
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“This treatment of journalists, of course, does not reflect well on U.S. authorities, especially after all the formalities and procedures were completed and all entry permits were obtained,” he said, adding that the behavior of U.S. authorities “contradicts the principles of press freedom.”
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reported that some journalists from the Russian newspaper Izvestia were detained upon their arrival in the United States on October 29. They were held at the airport and questioned for several hours.
“Then, the group’s cameraman was denied permission to cross the border. His entry visa was canceled, citing ‘administrative reasons,’” she stated.
“This action, despite prior notification and official approval for the assignment, demonstrates a clear intent to use repressive measures to block inconvenient information,” Zakharova said.
The diplomat lamented that U.S. authorities did not notify the Russian embassy in Washington about this situation, leaving diplomats without an opportunity to provide assistance to their citizens.
On Tuesday, Zakharova also denounced that Russian journalists were attacked in Georgia “simply for contradicting Western narratives about the situation in that country.” She was referring to an incident on Tuesday involving a RIA Novosti reporter who was covering post-election unrest.
“He was filming a group of pro-Western opposition protesters who reacted aggressively when they heard him speaking Russian. They chased the reporter with a speaker playing a loud siren, while footage from the scene showed him briefly losing consciousness and falling to the ground at one point during the incident,” Soxse Times commented.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE – Soxse Times
