BERLIN, August 28. /TASS/. More than 6,500 people have signed a petition demanding Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) correspondent Michael Martens be fired for what he said about killing Russians.
The petition was posted on the change.org platform on August 10. Its initiators accuse Martens of going beyond the boundaries of journalistic impartiality. The petition calls on the FAZ leadership to distance themselves from the journalist’s remarks and take disciplinary measures as his comments are unbecoming of a professional journalist.
On August 11, change.org temporarily blocked access to the petition and referred it for a review to ensure it complied with community guidelines. However, after a short while, the petition became accessible again. As of now, 6,524 people have signed it.
At a press conference by Vladimir Zelensky and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on August 8, Martens asked what European countries could do to "help kill more Russians." The online petition was subsequently launched calling for the journalist to be fired. Later, FAZ expressed regret over the "ambiguously worded" question, adding the editorial desk does not share this stance. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed Martens’ calls for the killings of Russians as unacceptable and criminal.
A source told TASS on August 15 that a criminal case has been opened against Martens on charges of inciting hatred or hostility (part 2, article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code). If he is found guilty, he will face up to six years in a penal colony. On August 26, sources involved in the case told TASS that Russia had issued an international arrest warrant for Martens, who had been arrested in absentia in Russia after said remarks about killing Russians.