BBC slams Russian expulsion of journalist

The BBC on Friday condemned Russia's "direct assault on media freedom" after authorities refused to extend Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford's visa, forcing her to leave the country.

The British broadcaster has asked Russia to "reconsider” the decision which was announced by Russian state TV Rossiya 24 on Thursday night.

What has the BBC said?

"The expulsion of Sarah Rainsford is a direct assault on media freedom, which we condemn unreservedly," said BBC director-general Tim Davie.

Sarah Rainsford, who speaks fluent Russian, has been reporting on and off in Russia for 30 years, having made Moscow her home since 2014 at her current posting.

She's one of the British broadcaster's two English-language correspondents in Moscow.

Davie called her "an exceptional and fearless journalist… who provides independent and in-depth reporting of Russia and the former Soviet Union."

"We urge the Russian authorities to reconsider their decision," Davie added. "In the meantime, we will continue to report events in the region independently and impartially.''

Rainsford now has until the end of August to leave the country.

What did Russia say?

A Russian TV channel presenter on Rossiya 24 said on Thursday evening that it was "a milestone expulsion" after Rainsford had "crossed all our red lines."

The presenter said the decision followed UK rejections of visas for Russian journalists of broadcaster RT and online state news outlet Sputnik.

Neither Russia's Foreign Ministry nor its embassy in London had anything official to say about the announcement.

But Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel that "everything was explained in detail to BBC representatives who recently visited the Foreign Ministry."

Zakharova, who never identified Rainsford by name, added that the ministry had made "regular statements, urging the British to end persecution of Russian journalists."

Rainsford's effective expulsion followed a Foreign Ministry statement saying certain unnamed UK nationals would no longer be allowed in Russia for "involvement in anti-Russian activities." It is not clear whether Rainsford was one of them.

This latest controversy further worsens relations between Moscow and London following a series of international incidents between the two countries, including the 2018 nerve agent poisoning of a former double agent, Sergei Skripal, in England.

jc/rs (Reuters, AFP, AP)