Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) in a letter to Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of Russia has expressed concern over the ban on the entry of Ukrainian freelance journalist Alyona Savchuk to Crimea and Russia.

PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali in his letter has called on the Russian authorities and security services to immediately lift ban on Alyona Savchuk and stop targeting journalists in the line of duty.

According to Institute of Mass Information, the Russian federal security service, FSB has banned Savchuk from entering occupied Crimea and Russia for 10 years, till 28 of August 2028. The security service claimed that the journalist poses a threat to Russia’s defense capability, security or public order.

The FSB officers interrogated the journalist for about 40 minutes, took her finger-prints, but did not explain the reason for banning journalist and in what way she is a threat for the security of the Russian Federation.

For several years Savchuk has been reporting the facts of harassment of Crimean Tatars activists and politically motivated trials in Crimea.