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On Tuesday, November 28, Deschide.md portal reported that the Border Police had banned two more Russian journalists from entering our country. They are Alexei Samoliotov, the correspondent of Zvezda TV station, and Marina Safronova, the producer of the state broadcaster VGTRK.
Raisa Novitchi, the Border Police spokesperson, has confirmed for deschide.md that they were not allowed to enter Moldova because the journalists could not justify the purpose of their visit. “Initially, they were claiming they intended to pay a private visit, but they could not confirm what they said. Later, their true intentions were revealed, which served as a reason for not allowing them to enter Moldova,” Raisa Novitchi said.
The Border Police representative also says that the two of them had to return to Russia with the next flight at 19.00.
According to the Russian portal vesti.ru, Safronova and Samoliotov came to Chisinau to present Samoliotov's documentary titled Struggle for the Salyut. According to the publication, they were not supposed to shoot anything during their visit, and the documentary they intended to present was a “space detective story from 2011.”
Safonova and Samoliotov also said in the comments to the Russian press that they did not hear any explanations from the representatives of the Moldovan police.
Igor Dodon, the President of the Republic of Moldova, has already reacted to this case. As in previous cases, Dodon has criticized the authorities' decision to ban Russian journalists from entering the country; he has announced his intention to ask the competent authorities for explanations of the situation.
The representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia say they expect a prompt reaction from the OSCE on this case.
Previously, the Moldovan authorities banned several Russian journalists, public figures, and politicians from entry, including Daria Aslamova, the special correspondent of Komsomolskaya Pravda, Igor Cerneak, the editor-in-chief of Argumenty i Fakty, and others. Every time, authorities invoked a similar reason, claiming that they did not meet the conditions for crossing the state border or did not motivate the purpose of their visit.
UPDATE. Subsequently, the Party of Socialists reacted to bans against these two journalists. It expressed its indignation at this situation and announced that it intends to initiate a parliamentary investigation into all the cases of illegal deportations of Russian citizens in recent months.
UPDATE. On Wednesday, November 29, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation invited Andrei Neguta, the Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Russia, in order to issue a protest note on the numerous cases of restricting access to journalists, political scientists, and other official persons to the territory of Moldova.
