MOSCOW - Mykola Semena, a journalist working for a Radio Liberty project in Crimea, has not been accredited to work in Russian territory, contrary to what Russian law requires, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
“Working for a U.S. media outlet, Mr. Semena did not have the Russian Foreign Ministry’s accreditation,” Zakharova said at a news briefing on April 21.
Russian law stipulates that a foreign journalist working in Russia must have such accreditation, she said.
The U.S. embassy in Moscow confirmed that Semena did not have accreditation, Zakharova said.
“As we can see, they [the U.S. embassy to Russia] have confirmed themselves that this man [Semena] violated Russian law,” Zakharova said.
The Crimean prosecutor’s office had reported earlier this week that Semena, a journalist working for the ‘Crimea. Realities’ online project run by Radio Liberty and suspected of extremism, was barred from leaving Crimea pending the investigation.
The office of the ‘Crimea. Realities’ project is located in Kyiv, and a number of journalists are working for the project in Crimea.
Social media reported earlier, that the Ukrainian Information Ministry was drawing up appeals to international organizations because of searches of Crimean journalists cooperating with the ‘Crimea. Realities’ project.
The U.S. embassy to Russia has condemned Semena’s detention.
