“Norwegian authorities must by all means avoid restricting freedom of speech, which is the cornerstone of democracy. By refusing Kiselyov entry to Norway and to attend the Barents Press International annual meeting, Norwegian authorities restrict the freedom of speech,” says Amund Trellevik to BarentsObserver.
He is board member of Barents Press Norway, the host of this year’s annual journalist meeting.
Barents Press is an informal network of journalists in the four Barents courtiers Norway, Russia, Finland and Sweden. Dmitry Kiselyov was invited to speak about his work and his views on media-freedom in today’s Russia at Barents Press’ annual meeting in Kirkenes, Norway in late April.
The journalist network is now posting a letter to Norway’s Foreign Minister Børge Brende, urging him to reconsider the entry refusal of Dmitry Kiselyov.
“Kiselyov is controversial because he has a view of how a democracy should work – a view not shared by the West. Exactly, Kiselyov is invited to Barents Press International conference to speak about the conditions for freedom of speech in Russia and in the West. …. Barents Press would therefore strongly urge the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian authorities to consider this matter once more,” the letter reads.
Principal matter
Barents Press says refusing journalists entry to a country does not belong in a democracy like Norway, or in Russia. The network fears retaliation. “This is also a principal matter, where Norwegian journalists may be those who next are denied entry to Russia,” the organization argues.
The Kiselyov-case has triggered huge media attention in both Russia and Norway after BarentsObserver first reported about it last Friday.
Dmitry Kiselyov is on the list approved by EU foreign ministers to sanction Russian officials and Crimeans for their roles in the crisis in Ukraine. Kiselyov was appointed by President Putin in December 2013 to be the head of the new official Russian government owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today). The agency was created out of former RIA Novosti and the radio station Voice of Russia.
Today, Kiselyov is famous for promoting Putin’s policies and denigrate the West.
More journalists in pipe for EU’s black-list
The newspaper Kommersant reports on Wednesday, with sources in Brussels, that EU’s black-list of Russian citizens to be denied entry to the EU will be expanded to include 120-130 names.
The sanction-list is reportedly divided into five groups of people, of which the fifth includes media organizations and journalists. The explanation states that “these journalists and media structures actively involved in advocacy work in support of the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.” These structures include Gazprom-Media, TV channel Rossiya, Russia Today, First Channel and NTV, according to the information obtained by Kommersant.
In addition to Dmitry Kiselyov, three other journalists are listed by names; Mikhail Leontiev, Irada Zeynalov and Mikhail Gusman.
Norway is not a EU member, but a member of the Schengen visa regime and Norway’s Foreign Ministry has adopted the same set of sanctions against Russia after the Crimean crisis as the European Union.
