EDA summons Russian ambassador, embassy responds – main on 3 points

What happened?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) summoned the Russian ambassador to Switzerland, Sergei Garmonin, on Thursday. He had threatened a journalist from the “NZZ” in connection with his reporting on the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as announced by the EDA.

Garmonin threatened the journalist of the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” (NZZ) with legal action in Russia, the EDA announced on Thursday. The Russian ambassador was told that the comments were unacceptable and that this type of harassment of media professionals would not be tolerated.

The FDFA recalled that freedom of expression and information, as well as freedom of the media, are guaranteed by the Federal Constitution. Media professionals must be able to carry out their work, which is essential for a functioning democracy, without intimidation and fear.

What did the ambassador say?

The background is a message from the Russian embassy in Bern with an article in the “NZZ”. It names the author and refers to the criminal provisions, including the penalty, that could be applied to his statements in Russia. Accordingly, the journalist risks a fine, hard labor or several years in prison.

Among other things, the “NZZ” article focused on the resistance in the city of Melitopol in the southeastern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia, which is currently occupied by Russia. “Relatively peaceful guerrilla actions include women from the city handing out laxative-coated pastries to Russian soldiers,” it says, for example.

The message from the Russian embassy said that the vocabulary used in the article was intended to justify terrorism. In addition, the author would adopt “the most ridiculous inventions and rumors”, such as the pastry episode.

What does the Russian embassy say about this?

In the course of the evening, the Russian embassy itself issued a statement. Reactions in the Swiss media were “closely followed”, it is said. Due to the “public outcry”, they now want to clarify the embassy’s position on the course of events.

It is argued that the ambassador’s statement contained no personal threats to the journalist. They wanted to remind journalists to be guided by Russian legal norms, which include “supporting terrorist activities”. Moreover, the position towards people who support terrorism is almost identical in Switzerland and Russia.

A year ago, a new media law came into force in Russia that severely restricts the work of journalists. Among other things, it is forbidden to call the Russian invasion of Ukraine a “war”.

(dab/sda)