The Leninsky District Court of Kursk has in absentia ordered the arrest of France 24 journalist Catherine Norris Trent and several other unidentified parties. This decision, reported on JURIST, stems from allegations that the group unlawfully entered the Sudzhansky District of Kursk while they were embedded with Ukrainian armed forces filming a report.
France 24 noted that their journalists were granted access to Ukrainian-controlled areas of Kursk, despite the Russian court’s claims. Acting on a petition from the Border Directorate of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB), the court charged Trent under Part 3 of Article 322 of Russia’s Criminal Code. This statute penalizes the illegal crossing of Russian borders and, under Part 3, extends to instances involving conspiracy or organized groups, potentially resulting in a prison sentence of up to five years.
The arrest warrant follows previous actions by the FSB against foreign journalists, with similar cases emerging since August 2024. As the Coalition for Women in Journalism reports, 14 foreign journalists have faced these allegations, which the organization criticizes as violations against press freedom.
Under international norms such as the Third Geneva Convention, journalists accompanying military forces are considered war correspondents and could be detained as prisoners of war, only to be released at the conflict’s end. Foreign correspondents working within Russia often encounter prosecutions linked to charges like espionage or spreading false information about Russia’s military. There have been instances where detained journalists were used in prisoner exchanges, as seen in prominent cases involving the US and Russia. Read more about it here.