Reporters Without Borders

05/05/2025

On 5 May, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) held a press conference at its headquarters to present Ekaterina Barabash to the press. The Russian journalist and film critic disappeared from Moscow, where she was under house arrest, on 21 April and is now in Paris. Exhausted but free, Ekaterina Barabash recounted her escape from the Russian authorities, who put her on their wanted list as she faced up to ten years in prison. RSF coordinated the operation and ensured her safe passage to France.

“I fled — I had no other choice. Journalism no longer exists in Russia,” Ekaterina Barabash declared emotionally during the press conference on Monday, 5 May. The 63-year-old journalist tore off her electronic tag and travelled over 2,800 kilometres using clandestine routes to escape the close surveillance of the Russian authorities. Placed under house arrest, she has been officially listed as “wanted” by Russia since 21 April. Since that date, she had not been seen or heard from publicly until the RSF press conference.

“It is an immense relief to welcome Ekaterina Barabash to Paris. Her escape from Russia is one of the most perilous operations RSF has been involved in since the draconian Russian laws of March 2022. It sends a clear message to the Kremlin: free voices that dare to speak the truth about the war in Ukraine cannot be silenced. It is a message to journalists in danger: there is a way out, and RSF stands by your side. I have the deepest admiration for the moral determination and physical courage shown by Ekaterina Barabash. Her journey was long and exhausting. More than once, we feared she would be arrested — at one point we even thought she might be dead. Yet, today, she is among us, ready to testify and to resume her profession. Her message is clear: journalism no longer exists in Russia, and no journalist are safe from the Kremlin’s surveillance and repression. RSF extends its gratitude to all those who helped facilitate Ekaterina Barabash’s departure from Russia and her arrival in the European Union.

Thibaut Bruttin
Director General of RSF