This can be a response to the withdrawal of accreditation of a Russian correspondent of the state company TASS in Austria, the Moscow Overseas Ministry introduced on Monday. In return, an Austrian correspondent should now go away the nation. Maria Knips-Witting had been reporting from Moscow since January 2024.
The ORF itself confirmed the withdrawal of Knips-Witting’s accreditation on Tuesday evening and on the similar time regretted the choice of the Overseas Ministry in Moscow. It mightn’t perceive this and would take all mandatory steps to make sure that ORF audiences proceed to obtain unbiased and complete reporting from Russia, it mentioned in a press launch.
An announcement from the Moscow Overseas Ministry, which was made obtainable to APA on Monday night, states: “On Might 31, the Austrian ambassador was summoned to the Russian Overseas Ministry. Robust protests have been lodged in reference to the discriminatory measures in opposition to Russian journalists. The top of the diplomatic mission was warned that if Vienna didn’t rethink its determination to violate the rights of Russian journalists, countermeasures can be taken in opposition to the Austrian correspondents completely accredited in Russia.”
The Russian facet confused that “such a improvement was not at Moscow’s request, however was a pressured measure.” In accordance with the assertion, the Austrian authorities for his or her half had withdrawn TASS correspondent Ivan Popov’s everlasting accreditation and residence allow on April 30 and ordered him to depart the nation inside two weeks. In accordance with Russian sources, the Austrian authorities didn’t present an evidence for these steps. Ivan Popov needed to go away Austria on June 7. The assertion additionally states: “On this context, mirror measures have been taken in opposition to Maria Knips-Witting, a journalist from the Moscow workplace of the Austrian Broadcasting Company (ORF). On June 10, she was ordered at hand over her accreditation playing cards and go away the territory of the Russian Federation as quickly as doable.”
It was additionally acknowledged: “If official Vienna continues the apply of discrimination in opposition to Russian journalists, a corresponding response with regard to Austrian journalists will comply with instantly. In accordance with the rules of media freedom and on the premise of reciprocity, we will likely be prepared to contemplate the potential of accrediting new ORF workers in Russia as quickly because the Austrian authorities has created the situations for the work of Russian media representatives and the TASS workplace in Vienna has absolutely resumed its work.”
Popov, who has now been expelled from Austria and who beforehand reported from Slovenia, was portrayed as an intelligence agent in a March publication by the “Falter” with out mentioning his title. “A overseas correspondent recognized to the Falter by title, who has been working in Vienna since 2023 and is the truth is an officer of the Russian overseas intelligence service SWR, is appearing significantly conspicuously,” the weekly newspaper mentioned on the time. It was additionally noticeable, following all, that the information company staffed its workplace in Vienna-Wieden with two correspondents final yr: Popov and his colleague Arina Dawidjan. Since at the very least within the final twenty years just one consultant of TASS had ever reported from Vienna, this doubling of workers and on the similar time much less journalistic work was tough to elucidate: high-level Russian visits to Vienna, which have been historically reported on in nice element, have develop into uncommon because the begin of the struggle of aggression in opposition to Ukraine. And demanding Austrian statements regarding Russia have additionally more and more been thought of now not newsworthy in recent times and particularly since 2022 from TASS’s viewpoint.
The German press company dpa and the information company AP (on-line) additionally reported that Austria’s embassy in Moscow had been knowledgeable prematurely of the approaching step and had warned the correspondents of the Austrian media that the Overseas Ministry might resort to retaliatory measures. The Federal Chancellery, which is chargeable for accrediting overseas media representatives, instructed the APA late on Monday night that the case was being investigated. The Inside Ministry was chargeable for withdrawing the accreditation of the Russian media consultant.
Russian media representatives are repeatedly criticized within the EU for spreading disinformation. A number of Russian media retailers have due to this fact been sanctioned within the wake of Russia’s struggle of aggression in opposition to Ukraine; they’re banned from broadcasting within the EU, however their workers are usually allowed to proceed working within the West. TASS has not been affected by sanctions up to now.
In accordance with the ORF homepage, Maria Knips-Witting was born in Innsbruck in 1989. After graduating in translation research in English and Russian on the College of Innsbruck and East-West research on the College of Regensburg, she labored in print journalism for a number of years. Whereas working, she accomplished her diploma in journalism and new media on the Vienna College of Utilized Sciences of the WKW. She has been with the ORF since 2022, the place she first labored for the “ZIB Journal” following which in ZIB overseas coverage. Since January 2024, she has been a correspondent within the ORF workplace in Moscow.
