October 8, 2024 - Russia, Kursk

On October 8, 2024 the Leninsky District Court of Kursk granted the motion of the regional office of the Russian border service to issue arrest warrants for Italian journalists Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini. The journalists are being targeting by authorities for “illegally” entering Russia from Ukraine to film a TV report on the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ actions in the Kursk region. The two journalists, who are currently outside Russia, were previously charged by the FSB and added to the Kremlin’s wanted list.

Women Press Freedom believes this is yet another attempt to intimidate and silence foreign reporters covering the war by subjecting them to arrest warrants that could disrupt their travel. We demand that these charges be dropped immediately and stand in solidarity with all journalists targeted by the Kremlin for doing their jobs.