US journalist David Satter barred for breaking the law, says Moscow
Russia said yesterday it had expelled a veteran US reporter and scholar, David Satter, because he "grossly violated" the law in a move threatening to further chill Washington-Moscow ties.
Russia said yesterday it had expelled a veteran US reporter and scholar, David Satter, because he "grossly violated" the law in a move threatening to further chill Washington-Moscow ties.
The former Financial Times and Wall Street Journal correspondent, who has published three books on Russia and the former Soviet Union, said he was barred from Moscow without an explanation late last year.
The US embassy has filed a formal protest amid mounting criticism of President Vladimir Putin's rights record ahead of next month's Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Satter travelled to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, on December 5. He reported on mass protests against Ukraine's scrapping of a European Union pact. Satter was told on Christmas Day that his application for a new visa to Russia had been rejected.
"I was told that my presence in Russia, in the view of the security organs, was undesirable. Other than that, no reasons were given," Satter said via e-mail from London. "My belongings are in Moscow, where I have an apartment. But without permission to enter the country, I cannot retrieve them. I would like to return to Moscow to work but cannot do so without a visa. I want the Russians to reverse their decision."
I was told that my presence in Russia, in the view of the security organs, was undesirable
He had also been reporting and providing commentary to RFE/RL's Russian service, in addition to providing interviews and analysis to other news and opinion websites.