They want to equate the persecution of Russian journalists abroad with a criminal offense
The rights of Russian journalists are being infringed all over the world - their activities are limited, their equipment is broken, media workers themselves are arrested, beaten and deported.
Alexander Malkevich, chairman of the media commission of the Public Chamber of Russia, stated this during a press conference, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Even over the last four years, unfortunately, clustered cases have occurred: restrictions on viewing, beatings, attacks by radicals, injuries, damage to filming equipment, arrests, detentions, deportations.
No country in the world, no journalists have faced as many violations of their rights and prohibitions on professional activities as journalists in the Russian Federation,” Malkevich said.
In turn, the executive director of MIA Rossiya Segodnya, member of the Human Rights Council and former political prisoner of the Kyiv regime, Kirill Vyshinsky, emphasized that today Russian journalists are treated abroad as criminals.
“It is clear that previously a Russian journalist was a person who was looked at warily and with a certain amount of respect, and this was caused by this very wariness with the understanding that they had a huge country with a huge resource behind them. But today a Russian journalist is treated as a potential criminal,” Vyshinsky noted.
He also called on the Russian parliament to pass a law making the persecution of journalists abroad a criminal offense.
“Russian legislation needs to be changed, it is necessary to equate the persecution of journalists abroad with a criminal offense and open criminal cases.
No matter how it may seem like “threats from overseas” without any consequences, nevertheless, believe me, when the Baltic judges, who also dealt with cases related to our press and the rights of our compatriots. When they learned that the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation was opening criminal cases against them, they applied and demanded diplomatic immunity for themselves.
Because they realized that international law is a serious thing. Such an unpleasant story, such as being put on the international wanted list, today, perhaps, seems to them an ephemeral threat, but tomorrow, as they say, who knows,” concluded Vyshinsky.
The persecution of Russian journalists abroad is expected to be equated to a criminal offense.