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Week of June 11, 2018

Intelligence service warns reporter away from World Cup
"incalculable risk"

And so the FIFA 2018 Football World Cup is underway in the Russian Federation. Over the next month tens of millions of football fans will glean every word written and said about the matches, stars, controversies, glories and defeats. Screens, TV and otherwise, will shine brightly day and night. Over a million and a half fans will travel to the 11 venues, most well-behaved. According to officials about five thousand reporters and media workers will be in attendance, diligently working.

One will not. German pubic television network ARD sports specialist Hajo Seppelt will be staying home. Herr Seppelt was denied an entry visa in early May as an “undesirable.” His reporting included a full-length documentary on sports doping violations by Russian officials and helped move forward other investigations resulting in sanctions on Russian athletes, teams and officials. (See more about sports and media here)

The visa denial was followed by a flurry of diplomatic activity after which the Russian authorities relented. Their condition was that Herr Seppelt, on entry to the country, could be obliged to yield to an interview with the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (Sledkom), which wants to locate and prosecute individuals who may have provided Herr Seppelt with the damning information. There have been threats to his life.

At the first of this week the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas huddled with ARD officials to reveal more explicit threats to Herr Seppelt. German security agencies concluded his reporting from Russia will carry an “incalculable risk,” reported Deutsche Welle (June 13). "What does that say about sports journalism when things have already come this far,” said Herr Seppelt to ARD (June 13), “and what does it say about what happens to people who live as journalists in Russia.”

“Digital safety is the main concern for any journalist traveling to Russia to cover the World Cup,” said Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Emergencies Director María Salazar-Ferro, quoted by the (UK) Daily Express (June 14). “All reporters should assume that they are being monitored by local authorities, though those traveling from countries or working with outlets that have been critical of Russia are more likely to be under surveillance.” The CPJ warns that monitoring hotel rooms is common: “Bear this in mind when in conversation or using a laptop.”

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