Russia declared Institute of Mass Information expert Iryna Zemlyana wanted in 2022, opening a criminal case against her on spurious charges of attacking the Russian ambassador in Poland during an anti-war protest.
This statement was originally published on imi.org.ua on 8 February 2024.
Iryna Zemlyana, an expert at the Institute of Mass Information, has been added to the list of “terrorists and extremists” kept by the Russian Federal Service for Financial Monitoring (Rosfinmonitoring), Zemlyana reported to the IMI.
According to her, the Russian Telegram channel which posts updates in the “terrorists and extremists” list wrote about this on February 7.
“Of course, nothing Russia does should come as a surprise anymore, but it surprised me. After all, the case against me was opened back in May 2022, and they asked Interpol to search for me at the same time. Almost two years since [then], someone there decided that I was a ‘terrorist and extremist’, too. I wonder how these things are done there, because I have not taken part in any public rallies since May 2022 and I don’t do any public activities, although perhaps they monitor the non-public ones,” Zemlyana commented.
Rosfinmonitoring maintains a list of organizations and individuals suspected of involvement in extremism or terrorism on the basis of the law “On countering the legitimization of proceeds obtained through crime and sponsoring terrorism.”
A person who is suspected, accused or convicted of extremist or terrorist activities might be added to the list. Adding someone to the list means that banks have to freeze their accounts.
Russia had already declared Zemlyana wanted in 2022, opening a criminal case against her for allegedly attacking the Russian ambassador Sergey Andreev in Warsaw (Poland). Iryna notes that she did not commit the attack.
A group of protesters doused the ambassador with a red liquid as he was trying to lay flowers at the Mausoleum of Soviet Soldiers on May 9, 2022. Many protesters had red paint stains on their clothes to symbolize blood. They chanted such slogans as “fascists”, “ruscists” and “murderers”. Zemlyana, who participated in the campaign, was forced to leave Warsaw due to death threats. According to her, hours after the incident, all her data, including her passport number, phone number, her Ukrainian address, email, and all social media accounts were leaked on Russian Telegram channels with a call to “exterminate” her. She was added to the Russian “war criminals” database.
Poland investigated death threats to Zemlyana by Russians and others.
In June 2023, Polish prosecutors froze the investigation into the incident involving the Russian ambassador in Warsaw, Sergey Andreev, being doused with paint on May 9, 2022.
The National Police of Ukraine opened a case following Zemlyana’s statement after the incident with the Russian ambassador in Warsaw. Later, the Shevchenkiv District Police Department in Kyiv closed the criminal case over death and doxxing threats against the IMI expert Iryna Zemlyana. However, the court ordered the authorities to resume the investigation.
Interpol has not yet decided whether to declare Zemlyana an international wanted person at Russia’s request or not.
