Russia Slams Poland's Decision to Cancel Journalist's Residence Permit

The Russian Embassy in Warsaw has criticized the decision by Polish authorities to cancel the residence permit of Rossiya Segodnya freelance correspondent Leonid Sviridov.

WARSAW (Sputnik) — Sviridov's residence permit was canceled on Wednesday by Jacek Kozlowski, the governor of Poland's eastern Mazovia Province.

"We consider this decision unfounded, politically motivated and encroaching on freedom of speech. We urge the Polish authorities to correct this mistake while it is still possible," Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation in Poland, Sergey Andreev, told RIA Novosti.

He stressed that the current situation, where both the public and the Russian journalist himself are in the dark regarding the claims that are presented to him, “seems inexplicable and does not fit with the principles of the rule-of-law state."

"In the absence of any explanations it can only be assumed that Leonid Sviridov was singled out, firstly, because he is a citizen of Russia, and secondly, because he is engaged in journalistic pursuits."

Sviridov has been working in Warsaw since 2003. In October 2014, the Polish Foreign Ministry revoked his press accreditation without explanation, following a request from the country's Internal Security Agency (ABW).

According to Sviridov, Polish intelligence told him that his presence in the country posed a "real and serious" threat to national security.