Russian journalist claims Germany seized passports of his wife and daughter
Russia has condemned the treatment of Sergey Feoktistov, the bureau head for Rossiya Segodnya in Berlin, after the journalist claimed that German police had seized the passports of his wife and daughter.
The EU imposed sanctions on Rossiya Segodnya in 2023, accusing the Russian state-owned agency of spreading “disinformation” about the Ukraine conflict.
Earlier this month, the German authorities declined to renew Feoktistov’s residency permit and gave him until August 19 to leave the country or face deportation. According to the journalist, he flew to Berlin on Friday to help his family move but was barred from entering the country.
“Police came to the apartment where I used to live with my family – and where my wife and seven-year-old daughter still live – and confiscated their passports. They claimed that my wife and daughter might go into hiding to evade the order to leave Germany by August 19,” Feoktistov told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
Following Feoktistov’s claim, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Germany of “targeting journalists and media outlets” in an effort to “eradicate alternative points of view.” Rossiya Segodnya chief Dmitry Kiselyov said Germany is preparing the public for “a war with Russia.”
Since 2022, the EU has banned a number of Russian media organizations, including RT and Sputnik, and blacklisted their staff. Moscow has responded with retaliatory sanctions on several Western journalists and blocked access to certain media outlets, including German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
