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Russia launches investigation against FAZ journalist Martens for his remarks on Russians

An informed source said that questions of putting the journalist on an international wanted list and choosing his pretrial detention measure in absentia are being decided

© Olesya Chepurchenko/TASS

MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. Russia has started a criminal investigation against Michael Martens, a correspondent for the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) because of his public remarks about killing Russians, an informed source has told TASS.

"The case against Martens was opened under part 2, Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code, which is inciting hatred or enmity," the source said.

In his words, questions of putting the journalist on an international wanted list and choosing his pretrial detention measure in absentia are now being decided.

If found guilty, he faces up to six years in prison.

During a news conference of Vladimir Zelensky and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade, FAZ correspondent Martens asked what European countries can do to "help kill more Russians." After that, a petition was launched online with a demand to fire him. Russian Foreign Ministry’s Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova qualified Martens’s calls to kill Russians as unacceptable and criminal.

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