This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/world/europe/nbcuniversal-jeff-shell-russia.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| NBCUniversal Executive Is Denied Entry Into Russia | NBCUniversal Executive Is Denied Entry Into Russia |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BRUSSELS — An NBCUniversal executive said he was denied entry into Russia and detained for several hours before being escorted onto a flight out of the country early Wednesday morning. | BRUSSELS — An NBCUniversal executive said he was denied entry into Russia and detained for several hours before being escorted onto a flight out of the country early Wednesday morning. |
| The executive, Jeff Shell, who oversees the motion picture unit, said he was traveling to Russia on business when he was detained briefly and ordered out of the country. Mr. Shell said NBCUniversal had a movie operation in the country. He is also the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the federal agency that oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and other government broadcasters. | |
| Mr. Shell said he had arrived in Moscow around 11:30 p.m. and was making his way through immigration when he was pulled out of the line. | Mr. Shell said he had arrived in Moscow around 11:30 p.m. and was making his way through immigration when he was pulled out of the line. |
| “I was then taken to a small room and left alone for about a half-hour before someone came back with a document in Russian that they wanted me to sign,” he said in a telephone interview. | “I was then taken to a small room and left alone for about a half-hour before someone came back with a document in Russian that they wanted me to sign,” he said in a telephone interview. |
| Mr. Shell said he refused, telling the Russian authorities that he would not sign something he did not understand. He said he was then given a translated version of the document, which explained that he had been barred from the country. He said he was then escorted to another room at the airport where he was locked inside for nearly three hours until a flight to Amsterdam was arranged. | |
| “An armed guard came and got me at about 5 a.m. and walked me onto the plane and to my seat,” Mr. Shell said. “He gave my passport to the pilot and said not to give it back to me until I was on Dutch soil. It was quite embarrassing.” | “An armed guard came and got me at about 5 a.m. and walked me onto the plane and to my seat,” Mr. Shell said. “He gave my passport to the pilot and said not to give it back to me until I was on Dutch soil. It was quite embarrassing.” |
| He said he was never told why he was denied entry. | He said he was never told why he was denied entry. |
| The incident comes amid deteriorating diplomatic relations between Washington and Moscow, which in recent weeks have taken turns expelling each other’s diplomats. | The incident comes amid deteriorating diplomatic relations between Washington and Moscow, which in recent weeks have taken turns expelling each other’s diplomats. |
| Last month, the United States expelled two Russians in retaliation for an attack on an American by a police officer in Moscow. Last week, the Russian authorities ordered the expulsion of two American diplomats after what they called an “unfriendly move” by the American government. |