Bjorn Blaschke, a journalist for the German radio station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), was removed from a train in Birobidzhan before a fine was imposed in February. This was reported by «Echo» with reference to an unnamed source.
A fine against a journalist in Birobidzhan became known almost a month after the meeting , when Mediazona found information about this on the court’s website. Blaschke was found guilty of “discrediting” the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine and fined 40 thousand rubles (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code).
At the same time, the circumstances of the detention and the reason for the prosecution remained unknown.
According to Echo’s interlocutor, Blaschke was going to travel by train along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Vladivostok to Moscow and talk with Russians about the presidential elections . It was filmed at the beginning of the journey, in Birobidzhan.
The reason for the persecution was the journalist’s tweet from August 2022, when he was in Kenya. Blaschke then wrote in English and German: “Russia’s attack on Ukraine makes the situation worse: rising wheat and fuel prices around the world have also affected Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan.” Now only the German version of the tweet is available.
The editors of WDR, after it became known about the fine, clarified that the journalist is now in Tbilisi. To date, Blaschke has released only the first part of the program about his trip.