Journalist on Russia wanted list says he has been 'banned' from Baftas
Bulgarian investigative journalist who is on Russia’s wanted list says he has been ‘banned’ from attending the Baftas because he poses a ‘security risk’
- A Bulgarian journalist and Kremlin critic has been ‘banned’ from the BAFTAs
- Christo Grozev said police deemed his attendance at the awards a ‘security risk’
A Bulgarian investigative journalist has said he has been ‘banned’ from the BAFTAs where a documentary about Russian dissident Alexei Navalny is nominated after police reportedly said it would be a ‘security risk’.
Christo Grozev, a long-time critic of Vladimir Putin’s regime, is credited with helping to reveal the plot to kill Navalny and appears in the film which is nominated in the documentary category at the awards this weekend.
On Friday, he tweeted he was ‘surprised to discover that my whole family and I have all been banned by British police from attending this weekend’s BAFTA awards’. Police had deemed them a ‘public security risk’, he added.
Grozev was added to the Kremlin’s wanted list earlier this month.
Christo Grozev, a long-time Kremlin critic, has said he has been banned from the BAFTAs after police warned of a ‘security risk’
(Stock Photo) BAFTA said: ‘The safety of all our guests and staff at the ceremony is always our highest priority’
The film explores the story of Russian opposition leader Navalny and his 2020 poisoning.
It sees Mr Grozev explain how he and fellow investigative journalist Maria Pevchikh revealed the details of the poisoning plot that indicated involvement from Russia.
Grozev, who is the lead Russia investigator for the award-winning investigative website Bellingcat, said: ‘Moments like this show the growing dangers to independent journalists around the world.
‘These dangers don’t stem just from murderous dictators, but also from having journalists’ voices hushed – instead of amplified – by the civilised world they are trying to serve.’
A statement from Metropolitan Police said the force could not comment on individual cases, but that ‘the fact that some journalists face the hostile intentions of foreign states whilst in the UK is a reality that we are absolutely concerned with’.
The Met added it could not ban individuals from attending private events, but had advised organisers of the film awards.
A spokesperson said: ‘We recognise that our advice can mean organisers have difficult choices to make when deciding how best to mitigate any risks to the security of their event, and we are grateful for the ongoing engagement of BAFTA.’
In response to Grozev’s series of tweets, Tory MP and chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns tweeted: ‘I’ve raised with ministers – you are not the security risk.’
BAFTA said in a statement: ‘The safety of all our guests and staff at the ceremony is always our highest priority, and we have robust and appropriate security arrangements in place every year.’
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been held for the past two years at a maximum-security prison outside Moscow
Bafta also confirmed that Diane Becker, Shane Boris, Melanie Miller and Odessa Rae will be attending the event as nominees for Navalny. Grozev is not currently publicly listed as attending.
Navalny, the most prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been held at a maximum-security prison outside Moscow for the past two years after an embezzlement conviction.
He was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-made nerve agent, on a trip to Siberia in 2020 and has accused Putin of being behind the attack.
He was treated in Germany for the poisoning but returned to Russia after recovering and was arrested.
The Bafta awards ceremony is set to take place at London’s Southbank Centre on February 19.
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