Audiovisual regulator seeks protection for Kursk incursion reporter Mircea Barbu
Romania's National Audiovisual Council (CNA) is seeking protection for journalist Mircea Barbu, who covered the war in the Ukrainian-controlled parts of Kursk region, and condemns the decision of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to file criminal charges against journalists reporting from the Ukraine-Russia conflict zones, Barbu included.
In a release sent on Saturday, the CNA said that Mircea Barbu's reports, which are also accessible online, are penned with professionalism and cannot be equaled to hostile acts of propaganda.
"The military forces engaged in combat shouldn't consider that journalists reporting from conflict zones are enemies. The reporters must be protected to allow them to convey to the public information as close as possible to the reality on the ground. Harassing them constitutes an attack on the freedom of expression and to free access to information of exceptional public interest," the CNA representatives said.
In this context, the CNA turned to the Ministry of the Interior, demanding "urgent steps to ensure Barbu's protection" given the announcement of the Russian Federation, but also the rallying messages on Telegram, that go as far as to suggest killing the journalists who accompanied the Ukrainian troops.
Also, the CNA decided to inform the parliamentary culture and media committees on the case of the Romanian journalist, "asking them to take public attitude, by virtue of their parliamentary powers."
The National Audiovisual Council will also inform the European forums tasked with the protection of journalists, and a letter of protest will be sent to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bucharest, the release states.
"The move of the Russian Federation is nothing but yet another confirmation that the totalitarian, brutal, fear-based regime is preferred in Russia, in contrast with the path of European democracy Romania has committed itself to," the cited source states.
Romania's Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned on Friday Russia's decision to initiate cases against three journalists, two Americans and one Romanian, stressing that "media representatives should be protected and not silenced", and terming this move as "a blatant attack on press freedom and fundamental rights."
Russia's Federal Security Service has opened criminal investigations against three journalists, ABC's Kathryn Diss and Fletcher Yeung, and HotNews reporter Mircea Barbu, for allegedly "illegally" crossing the Russian border with Ukraine to report from the occupied part of the Kursk region, international news agencies announced on Friday.
A total of 12 foreign journalists from various news outlets such as America's CNN, the Italian channel RAI, or the German Deutsche Welle have been subject to similar investigations starting from August 17, after making similar journeys to Kursk.
The targeted journalists do not appear to be in Russia any more, but under Russian law they face up to five years in prison. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Catalin Alexandru; EN - editor: Simona Klodnischi)
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