Russian journalists’ union voices concern over threats to NTV correspondent in London

MOSCOW, March 12./TASS/.The Union of Russian Journalists has expressed strong concerns over the threats targeting London correspondent of Russia’s NTV television Elizaveta Gerson. The Union intends to draw attention of its UK colleagues to the situation, it said in a statement on Monday.

"After the incident in Salisbury (poisoning of former Russian intelligence colonel and his daughter) and in connection with a new anti-Russian campaign launched by UK media, the Russian journalists working in England have found themselves in an extremely tense psychological situation, which prevents them from performing official duties," the report said.

"Russian journalists are getting letters with threats, including threats to their health and life. The Union of Russian Journalists expresses a strong concern over the developments," it said.

With this in view, the Union intends to shortly appeal to the International Federation of Journalists and their colleagues from the National Union of Journalists that brings together journalists from Britain and Ireland with a request to look into the threats and voice their stance on this.

Earlier, Elizaveta Gerson told TASS she had received a threat from an unidentified person for her covering the poisoning incident.

"BBC published an article which mentioned the name of Kirill Kleimenov [presenter on Channel One’s Vermya news program] and my name. It retold my story, after which an unidentified person, I hope it was just a psycho, wrote me a letter with life threats", she said.

"Prior to that, there have already been nasty things posted on Twitter, but there have been no such threats," said Gerson, who has been working as NTV correspondent in the UK since 2015.

Gerson said she had not turned to law enforcement agencies in connection with these threats. "I am not thinking about this, I hope this is not in earnest, it’s just some psycho tired of reading the Daily Mail," she added.

Former GRU Colonel Sergey Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Julia on March 4 suffered from the effects of an unidentified nerve agent. They were found slumped on a bench near The Maltings shopping center in Salisbury. Both are now in hospital in critical condition.

In 2004, Skripal was arrested by the federal security service FSB, charged, tried and convicted of high treason and stripped of all ranks and awards. In 2010 he was handed over to the United States under an arrangement to exchange persons arrested on spying charges. Later in the same year Skripal settled in Britain.