Russia
Deportation order reversed for French journalistPosted Feb 20 2012
The Russian government, beating a quick retreat, apologized to French author and journalist Anne Nivat who had been deported from the country on Feb. 12, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“(Nivat) can already now, in principle, enter the Russian Federation,” the head of the Federal Migration Service said on Feb. 16, reversing the department’s original decision, according to the Moscow Times.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Nivat had been detained and told the interviews she’d conducted with local opposition parties had violated her visa. As a freelance journalist, she had obtained a business visa. It was subsequently cancelled by the head of the local bureau.
Nivat is writing a book on the current political climate in Russia in the run-up to the March 4 presidential elections, which are expected to confirm Vladimir Putin’s third term as president.
The Federal Migration Service announced that the local station chief responsible for annulling Nivat’s visa, Oleg Brechko, had been fired Feb. 14 following the incident, according to Radio Free Europe.
Nivat’s expulsion highlights the sometimes politically-embarrassing and duplicitous response by Russia’s government to the voice of growing opposition in Russia as the government seeks both to draw a conciliatory line with protestors and to quell resistance to Putin’s return to presidency.