The Kremlin said on Monday (22) that France’s decision to refuse accreditation to some Russian journalists for the 2024 Paris Olympics over security fears was unacceptable and accused French authorities of undermining media freedom.
France’s acting interior minister said on Sunday (21) that French security services had rejected more than 4,000 requests for accreditation for the Olympics, including over concerns about espionage and cyberattacks.
Gerald Darmanin, who said about 100 applications had been rejected over espionage fears, said some of those rejected were from Russia and Belarus, a strong ally of Moscow.
When asked about the refusal to accredit some Russian journalists for the Olympics, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call:
“We consider such decisions unacceptable. We believe that such decisions undermine media freedom. And they certainly violate all of France’s commitments to the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) and other organizations,” he said.
“And of course we would like to see a reaction to such decisions from relevant human rights organizations, from organizations focused on guaranteeing all the foundations and rules of press freedom.”
The West on Friday (19) accused Russia of trampling on media freedom after a court found US reporter Evan Gershkovich guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in a maximum security penal colony.
His employer, the Wall Street Journal, called the ruling “a shameful and false conviction”, saying he was simply doing his job as a reporter accredited by the Foreign Ministry to work in Russia.
The Kremlin said the case and preparations for the trial were the responsibility of the court, but said before the verdict and without publishing evidence that Gershkovich had been caught spying “red-handed”.
Source: CNN Brasil
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