Russia launches criminal case against Spanish journalist
The Russian authorities have launched a criminal case against Spanish journalist Alberto Rojas for allegedly illegally crossing the border into Kursk Region, which is partly occupied by Ukrainian forces.
According to the Investigative Committee, Rojas, a reporter for the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, entered the region’s Suzha district in February without valid entry documents accompanied by Ukrainian military personnel.
“The investigation is taking measures to determine Rojas’s whereabouts and detain him,” the Committee wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.
El Mundo has described the accusation as “completely false,” claiming that the reporter has carried out his work in Ukraine's Sumy Region and adhered to clear instructions to never set foot on Russian soil. The latest report from Rojas was published on Saturday and gives the Sumy-Kursk border as the reporter’s location.
If convicted, Rojas could face up to five years in prison.
Kiev launched an incursion into Kursk Region last August, seizing several settlements in the vicinity of the town of Sudzha. The Ukrainian-held pocket has shrunk over time, as Moscow has recaptured significant ground.
This is not the first time that foreign journalists have been accused of illegally crossing into Russia. Arrest warrants on similar charges were issued last year for several reporters, including CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh, Nick Connolly (Deutsche Welle), as well as Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini (Radiotelevisione Italiana and RAI).
Moscow has accused the Western reporters who crossed the border of providing “propaganda” on behalf of Ukraine. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated in December that the Russian people were “fed up” with the convoluted reporting and “outright fakes” by the Western media.
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky proposed using the land captured by Ukrainian forces in Kursk Region as leverage in negotiations with Russia. Moscow has dismissed the possibility of a land exchange with Kiev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that Ukraine’s incursion significantly diminished the likelihood of negotiations.
