TALLINN, July 25 (RIA Novosti) – Journalists from Russian television channel Zvezda were denied entry to Estonia because they failed to clearly explain the purpose of their visit, the press service of the country’s Police and Border Guard Board announced on Friday.
The Police and Border Guard Board said that the two journalists arrived in the country with tourist visas, but as it was later revealed, the purpose of their visit was not tourism, but work. According to the Board's press secretary, border guards suspect that the press cards presented by the journalists do not belong to the agency they claim to be working for, as reported by Latvia’s news portal Delfi.
The TV channel reported earlier the same day that special correspondent Maxim Gritsenko and cameraman Vyacheslav Amelyutin, who arrived in Estonia to cover the annual gathering of veterans of the 20th Waffen-SS division, were detained at passport control in Tallinn airport without any explanations.
Earlier on Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry Commissioner for Human Rights Konstantin Dolgov said that Moscow may seek assistance of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) if the journalists are not released.
He added that the actions by Estonia’s authorities “should be approached as nothing more than undermining the freedom of speech and the press.”
