MOSCOW, October 30. /TASS/. The United States’ recent actions against Russian journalists violated Washington’s obligations to ensure freedom of access to information and media pluralism, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
According to the diplomat, the Izvestia multimedia information center’s TV crew, which arrived in the US to cover the upcoming presidential election, was detained at a Washington airport in the early hours of October 29.
"Although the group had permissions issued in accordance with the purpose of the visit, local law enforcement officials seized all equipment and communication devices from the Russian journalists and made them undergo hours-long questioning. As a result of the conversation, the crew’s cameraman V. Borovikov was denied entry and his visa was canceled for some 'administrative reasons.' In addition, a decision was made to expel him from the country," Zakharova pointed out.
"We view the incident as another blatant violation by Washington of its obligations to ensure freedom of access to information and media pluralism. The fact that Russian journalists notified the US authorities in advance of their intentions and were granted official permission to perform their assigned mission makes it clear that the illustrative action was aimed at unambiguously demonstrating the country’s readiness to use its repressive machinery at any moment in order to shut down access to the information that it finds inconvenient," the Russian diplomat emphasized.