Russian court issues arrest warrant for Romanian journalist after Kursk report
A Russian court has officially charged Romanian journalist Mircea Barbu in absentia with illegally crossing the state border when he accompanied Ukrainian troops into the Russian region of Kursk for a report.
The ruling comes after Barbu, along with two other journalists, had a criminal case opened by the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, on September 27. The Romanian, a HotNews.ro correspondent, along with Australian journalists Fletcher Young and Catherine Diss, produced reports in the Russian region of Kursk, where the Ukrainian army launched an incursion at the beginning of August.
According to Interfax, the Leninsky district court in Russia's Kursk Region ruled on October 24 that Barbu had entered the country from Ukrainian territory in order to film a report on the "invasion of the armed formations of Ukraine" on August 6, 2024.
“All I know is that now the Russians have issued an arrest warrant in absentia and placed me under national and international search, which means that, from today onward, it will be infinitely more complicated to travel and, implicitly, to do my job. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried,” the Romanian journalist said on Facebook.
However, Mircea Barbu said he finds inspiration in the struggle against tyranny of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. A staunch opponent of Putin, Navalny was poisoned and imprisoned in Russia until his death earlier this year, at 47 years old.
“At a time like this, my heart is closer to the thoughts of people who have fought infinitely harder and more courageously for freedom than any discussion about visas, imaginary lines, and stamps on travel documents,” said Mircea Barbu.
The Romanian journalist later revealed he messaged the Russian embassy requesting access to Russian troops for a report, but received no reply.
The president of the Romanian senate and presidential hopeful Nicolae Ciucă reacted to the news, saying that the ruling is a blow to the freedom of the press.
“Such decisions represent not only a threat to individual freedom but also a cynical attempt to silence voices that denounce abuses," the Liberal leader wrote on Facebook. "As a Romanian, as the president of the PNL and the Senate of Romania, I join those who condemn this flagrant violation of human and press rights. We must defend the right to truth and freedom!" Ciucă added.
Romanian prime minister and presidential candidate Marcel Ciolacu also condemned the sentencing, stressing that he would not tolerate any interference from Russia in Romania's democratic processes. The Social Democrat leader voiced his solidarity with Barbu and other independent journalists who have faced legal action in Russia and highlighted the importance of defending freedom of expression and press freedom in a post on the government’s Facebook page.
To date, 14 foreign journalists have been charged in absentia with illegally crossing the Russian border to report on the Ukrainian incursion. These include British journalist Nick Paton Walsh, CNN's chief international security correspondent.
(Photo source: Nicolae Ciuca on Facebook)
