"The true sense of the term 'democracy' excludes the attempts to impose a will on people from abroad. Likewise, discrimination against journalists runs contrary to the principles of democracy and freedom of speech. It is obvious for Europe, but nevertheless such cases involving Russian journalists take place on a regular basis in the EU member states… The Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency and the Sputnik agency have become targets of such a discriminatory approach," Veronika Krasheninnikova said, speaking at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) human rights conference in Warsaw.
She added that Russia is concerned by violation of Russian journalists' rights in such EU countries as Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as in such OSCE member states as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
According to the official, some Rossiya Segodnya and Sputnik journalists were subjected to questioning and pressure by Estonian and Moldovan intelligence services and refused entry to Estonia and Latvia. There were cases of Estonian banks freezing assets of the agencies, she added.
Krasheninnikova urged the OSCE member states to end discrimination and to adhere to democratic values, such as freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of press.
Sputnik (sputniknews.com) is a news agency and radio network with multimedia news hubs in dozens of countries. Sputnik broadcasts through its websites in over 30 languages, as well as on analogue and digital radio, mobile apps, and social media. Sputnik newswires, available by subscription, 24/7 in English, Arabic, Spanish and Chinese.
Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is an international media group whose mission is to cover world events in a prompt, balanced, and unbiased manner. Rossiya Segodnya offers alternative views on key events in Russia and elsewhere.
