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French reporter’s application for refugee status in Russia received by interior ministry

On Tuesday, Adrien Bocquet, a French military expert, volunteer and journalist covering the situation in Donbass, filed an application for refugee status in Moscow

MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. French journalist Adrien Bocquet’s application for refugee status in Russia has been registered by the Moscow police migration department and a decision on this matter will be made on the basis of Russia’s federal law and taking into consideration his pro-Russian position, the Russian interior ministry said on Tuesday.

"The Moscow police migration department received French journalist Adrien Bocquet’s application for refugee status in Russia. A decision will be made on the basis of federal laws and taking into account reports about his persecution for his active pro-Russian position," it said.

Adrien Bocquet, a French military expert, volunteer and journalist covering the situation in Donbass, filed an application for refugee status in Moscow on Tuesday. According to Alexey Zhurin, chief of the interior ministry’s refugee directorate, his documents will be checked within five working days.

Russian Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Irina Volk told TASS on January 16 that the ministry would be ready to look at settling the issue of his legal status in Russia after he filed a corresponding application. According to Volk, explanations on the procedure of applying for political asylum and refugee status in Russia were provided to the French journalist back in December.

On January 11, Bocquet told TASS he had applied for Russian citizenship and political asylum in Russia.

A former French military officer, Adrien Bocquet served as an expert on NATO weapons in Donetsk. Apart from that, he deals with volunteer matters. He was the first Western volunteer to say publicly that the Bucha incident was a provocation staged by the Ukrainian army. Earlier, he was prosecuted in France and survived an assassination attack by Ukrainian nationalists in Istanbul.

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