Austria and Russia Expel Each Other’s Journalists in Tit-for-Tat Move

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it has revoked the accreditation of a correspondent for Austria’s public broadcaster ORF, ordering her to leave the country. This action comes in retaliation for Austria’s expulsion of a journalist working for the Russian news agency Tass six weeks prior.

The ministry’s statement revealed that Maria Knips-Witting, who had been stationed in Moscow since January according to ORF’s website, was instructed to surrender her accreditation and depart “in the near future.”

This recent move adds to a growing list of actions taken against foreign journalists in Russia.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was apprehended nearly 15 months ago on espionage charges and remains incarcerated pending trial. U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was detained in October 2023 for failing to register as a “foreign agent.”

Eva Hartog, a Dutch journalist working for Politico, was denied a visa renewal in August 2023. In March, Xavier Colas of found himself forced to leave the country after authorities refused to grant him a new visa.

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