Izvestia employees Ksenia Soldatova and Dmitry Timofeev had their Schengen visas canceled and banned from entering the European Union for three years.
“The visa was declared invalid, the decision was made on the basis of the following reasons: the conditions and purpose of the intended stay were not recognized,” Izvestia quotes the text of the document with the decision.
Soldatova and Timofeev were detained in Estonia on the evening of 12 August. They were removed from the train from Narva to Tallinn. According to media reports, they filmed material about the restriction of the issuance of visas to Russians and the deprivation of the T-34 tank of the status of a monument. As Izvestia wrote, journalists visited the country as tourists, "but could not ignore the latest events."
On August 11, the Estonian authorities decided to close the borders for Russian citizens with Schengen visas issued by the republic, with some exceptions.
Exceptions are:
- embassy staff;
- international transport workers;
- humanitarian reasons;
- visiting relatives.