Russia: State Refusing To Renew Arja Paananen’s Visa And Accreditation - CFWIJ Calls For Their Immediate Reinstatement

Location: Russia, St Petersburg
Date: February 14, 2023

Photo Credit: Pekka Nieminen

Finnish journalist Arja Paananen was forced to leave Russia because of issues renewing her visa and press credentials. Authorities in Russia should not interfere with this process. The Coalition For Women In Journalism calls for her credentials to be reinstated immediately. Accreditation should not be weaponized.

On February 9, Finnish news outlet Ilta-Sanomat reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russia had failed to renew visa and press accreditation for its Russia correspondent Arja Paananen. The seasoned reporter, who has covered Russia since the nineties, was forced to leave in October 2022.  

Editor-in-Chief of Ilta-Sanomat Johanna Lahti says, “Russia’s actions are clearly intentional…. By preventing Paananen’s entry into the country, Russia is practically underlining how exceptionally good a journalist and troublesome critic of Vladimir Putin’s Russia she is perceived to be in Russia.”

Paananen told CPJ that Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had initially informed her that her credentials would be renewed in September 2022. However, when she heard nothing from the ministry by mid-October 2022, she decided to leave the country before her accreditation and visa expired. In January 2023, a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told her informally that her accreditation was not likely to be renewed, “but officially they refuse to say that they have announced me persona non grata.”

Paananen and Ilta-Sanomat believe the reason she is running into difficulties stems from an editorial she wrote about a Putin speech in July 2022. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed the article was “A blatant example of unfounded anti-Russian propaganda,” that, “distorts the essence of the statements of the President of Russia.”

Paananen has had a one-year accreditation as a “permanent correspondent” for years. Although the process to renew it has always been challenging, it was granted every year until 2022. Russia has recently limited such credentials to three months for journalists from countries it considers “unfriendly”, including Finland. 

Ilta-Sanomat’s website has been blocked in Russia since April 2022. The news outlet began publishing in Russian as well as Finnish following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Russian authorities should not interfere with Arja Paananen’s accreditation renewal. Her application should be processed, and her credentials and visa should be granted immediately. Paananen has spent decades reporting on Russia, and her insight into the region is valuable. States should not withhold press accreditation to impede and silence journalists critical of their actions.  

Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has passed laws targeting journalists who report on the war. Siberian journalistMaria Ponomarenko is currently being detained for posting about deaths in Mariupol and food bloggerVeronika Belotserkovskaya was sentenced to nine years for an Instagram post. Russia’s persecution of the press needs to stop.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

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