09.06.2017, Russia.
A Rossa Primavera correspondent was denied permission to a US Ambassador John Tefft meeting with the Voronezh State University (VSU) Journalism Department students, which was hosted on June 8th at 4 p.m., according to the Rossa Primavera News Agency.
The VSU professors and students, who were not included in the pre-arranged list, are denied entry to the meeting by the guards citing a lack of seats.
Answering the correspondent’s question “What is the principle of choosing the participants and who was choosing them?” the VSU representative informed, “There was no choosing. The Embassy told us. They are meeting with students from the Journalism Department and with media they’ve invited by themselves.”
Everyone, who was not included in the list, was denied entry citing a limited number of seats.
John Tefft was head of the US Embassy in Georgia from 2005 to 2009 and in Ukraine from 2009 to 2013. He meets with journalists in off the records format, that is for acquainting communication with no further publication. According to Tefft, “The US government consistently supports democratic processes, including strong civil society development, leading to authorities reflecting people’s will.”
According to the Law of the Russian Federation “On Mass Media” No. 2124-1 of December 27, 1991, Chapter V, Article 47 “The Rights of the Journalist”, the University administration had no right to deny the media representative permission to attend the meeting.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
