The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has confirmed information that Austrian journalist Christian Wehrschutz was banned from entering Ukraine for the period of one year.
“The reason for this decision was the need to ensure the safety of the journalist. We recall that Christian Wehrschutz noted in his interview about the existing threats to his life in Ukraine,” the SBU reported on its Facebook page on Saturday.
The security service said that in order to avoid possible provocations during the stay of the Austrian journalist in Ukraine, “the SBU, in accordance with the law, decided to ban him from entering.”
As reported, on March 8, 2019, the EU press secretary told Interfax-Ukraine that the EU is aware of the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to ban Wehrschutz from entering Ukraine and expects that such decisions will be taken in accordance with fundamental rights and freedoms, including the European Convention on Human Rights.
Earlier, First Deputy Head of the Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information Policy Olha Chervakova reported that the SBU had prohibited head of the Ukrainian bureau of the Austrian ORF TV channel Christian Wehrschutz from entering the country because of the “threat he poses to national security.”
