Latvia has officially notified Russian journalist Leonid Ragozin that it is expelling him from the country, he said on social media.
“I can now confirm that yesterday I was notified of my expulsion from Latvia where I lived for 12 years,” Ragozin wrote.
The notice did not specify “any specific misdemeanors or statements which prompted the decision,” according to Ragozin. He added that he had been declared persona non grata, a status intended “for diplomats who enjoy immunity from prosecution, not for ordinary people.”
Ragozin considers his expulsion political persecution, saying it stemmed from “long-brewing revenge” by far-right politicians over his investigation into their ties to Russian neo-Nazis who have taken refuge in Kyiv. “It is also a punishment for my commentary on the Russian aggression in Ukraine and for Pavel Sheremet investigation,” he wrote.
Latvian outlets reported in early October that the country’s Foreign Ministry had begun the process of declaring “another Russian citizen” persona non grata. Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said the decision was based on information “from the competent authorities” following consultations with the interior minister and the prime minister. The identity of the person being expelled was not officially disclosed, but Delfi reported it was Ragozin.
In Russia, Ragozin worked as a correspondent and producer for BBC Russia from 1998 to 2103 and as an editor at the magazine Russian Newsweek, and he also collaborated with Lonely Planet. He moved to Latvia after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. More recently, he has worked with Al Jazeera, Jacobin, and The American Conservative.
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