21 October 2016, 14:09 GMT
RIGA (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Latvia's State Border Guards detained agency’s producer Ella Taranova, who arrived in Riga to participate in the Baltic Forum, and started preparations for her expulsion from the country. According to Aleksander Vasilyev, who is the executive director of the forum, Taranova had been blacklisted by the Latvian Foreign Ministry.
"I don't know why it happened that a person with a Schengen visa who could arrive in any other country of the European Union, but turned out to be unwelcome in Latvia. Taranova is the noble forewoman in journalism in Russia, she organizers various media projects, therefore, her resentment may have a negative impact on some stories about Latvia and on country's reputation," Janis Urbanovics said.
Rossiya Segodnya Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan called the situation "outrageous," while the Russian Foreign Ministry described the situation as a "grave breach" of journalists' rights.
