Poland boots out reporter from Russian state news network

Poland has revoked the residence permit of Leonid Sviridov, a reporter for Rossiya Segodnya, whose press accreditation officials repealed last year, following a request from Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW).

A few days after losing his press pass, Sviridov was informed that the state would review his permission to continue residing in Poland. The Rossiya Segodnya journalist says he was expecting a decision on his residence status by May 20, but officials seem to have “expedited” the process. Sviridov says he managed to learn during the proceedings about his residence permit that the ABW considers his presence in Poland to be a “serious national security threat.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry says Poland’s decision to expel Sviridov is “provocative,” saying the move against a journalist “violates one of the basic principles of democratic society.”

Sviridov says the revocation of his residence permit could be related to the recent decision to bar a Russian motorcycle biker gang entry into Poland.

Correction: this article originally described Leonid Sviridov as a correspondent for "Russia Today." He is in fact a reporter for another government-controlled media outlet, "Rossiya Segodnya," which means "Russia Today" in Russian.

For more on Russia's troubles at the Polish border, see Vladimir Putin’s favorite biker gang is the butt of a new joke and Russia’s Foreign Ministry: Poland’s harassment of biker gang insults memory of WWII victims