In recent years, Carola Schneider has been reporting from Moscow for the ORF-Correspondent office. However, her accreditation has been revoked by the Russian Foreign Ministry, forcing her to leave the country. The Austrian Foreign Ministry has condemned this decision as unprecedented and unjustified, and has summoned Russia’s embassy’s chargé d’affaires to express their protest.
Schneider, originally from Vorarlberg, led the ORF office in Moscow for many years with compliance to all laws. She will now continue her reporting from Vienna as she is currently seeking new accreditations in response to this development. This action comes after Russia made authorities inaccessible for the ORF due to an EU ban on four Russian propaganda media. Moscow also blocked access to 81 media outlets from the EU, including the ORF, highlighting the challenging environment for journalists in Russia.
The ongoing trial of journalist Evan Gershkovich from The Wall Street Journal who has been imprisoned for 15 months on espionage charges further emphasizes this issue. Many media outlets critical of Vladimir Putin’s policies are blocked in Russia and numerous journalists are in prison for allegedly discrediting the Russian army. The ORF acknowledges Russia’s decision but lacks understanding of why they were singled out when many other foreign media outlets operate in Russia without any issues.
