Russia tells US to ‘mind its own business’ over media

Moscow has angrily told the US embassy to “mind your own business” after Washington’s diplomatic mission raised concern about curbs on media freedom in Russia.

Rebecca Ross, spokesperson for the US embassy, on Tuesday expressed concern about a clampdown on journalists in Russia.

“Watching arrest after arrest of Russian journalists — it’s starting to look like a concerted campaign against #MediaFreedom,” she tweeted.

“Mind your own business,” the Russian foreign ministry tweeted late on Tuesday.

Earlier that day the FSB security agency, successor to the Soviet-era KGB, arrested a respected former journalist, Ivan

Safronov, 30, on suspicion of state treason.

His detention sparked an uproar among supporters and journalists who say the arrest is punishment for his coverage of Russia’s defence sector.

A member of Safronov’s defence team, Yevgeny Smirnov, has said the former journalist, who used to work for Kommersant and Vedomosti newspapers, is suspected of co-operating with Czech intelligence since 2012.

All major TV stations are under state control in Russia.

Journalists working for print and online outlets have recently complained about increasing curbs on press freedoms and pressure from the Kremlin. —