This article is from the source 'rtcom' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.rt.com/news/616649-rt-journalist-deported-romania/
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| WATCH RT journalist speaks out after deportation from Romania | WATCH RT journalist speaks out after deportation from Romania |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Chay Bowes said the authorities labeled him a threat to state security | Chay Bowes said the authorities labeled him a threat to state security |
| RT journalist Chay Bowes, who was deported from Bucharest, said that Romanian authorities accused him of being a security threat. | RT journalist Chay Bowes, who was deported from Bucharest, said that Romanian authorities accused him of being a security threat. |
| The Irish reporter was detained upon arrival in the Romanian capital on a flight from Dublin on Thursday, where he had traveled to cover the upcoming re-run of the presidential election. He was put on a plane to Istanbul later that day. | The Irish reporter was detained upon arrival in the Romanian capital on a flight from Dublin on Thursday, where he had traveled to cover the upcoming re-run of the presidential election. He was put on a plane to Istanbul later that day. |
| Bowes said that shortly after touchdown in Bucharest, a group of police officers walked onto the tarmac and boarded the plane. | |
| “They asked the cabin crew where I was. I identified myself, and three police came on to the plane and told me that I had to come with them, [and] that I was being detained,” the journalist said after arriving in Istanbul. | “They asked the cabin crew where I was. I identified myself, and three police came on to the plane and told me that I had to come with them, [and] that I was being detained,” the journalist said after arriving in Istanbul. |
| As other passengers watched “with amazement,” the police escorted Bowes for an interrogation. “I was asked questions in the vehicle by the officers – where I was going and who I was going to meet. I told them I was a journalist. They wanted to know who I was going to speak to, which I declined to tell them. I said I’m here to cover the election,” he said. | As other passengers watched “with amazement,” the police escorted Bowes for an interrogation. “I was asked questions in the vehicle by the officers – where I was going and who I was going to meet. I told them I was a journalist. They wanted to know who I was going to speak to, which I declined to tell them. I said I’m here to cover the election,” he said. |
| Bowes said he was then taken to “a smaller interrogation room with two chairs and a table.” | Bowes said he was then taken to “a smaller interrogation room with two chairs and a table.” |
| I was presented with a document, which was presumably stamped by a judge. They wouldn’t let me have a copy of it. They wouldn’t let me take a photograph of it. It said that I was a threat to the security of the state, and on that basis they were deporting me from Romania. | I was presented with a document, which was presumably stamped by a judge. They wouldn’t let me have a copy of it. They wouldn’t let me take a photograph of it. It said that I was a threat to the security of the state, and on that basis they were deporting me from Romania. |
| Bowes denounced the deportation as a “fundamental breach” of his rights as a journalist and an EU citizen. “I entered the country completely legally – to do my job. This is really quite shocking,” he said. | Bowes denounced the deportation as a “fundamental breach” of his rights as a journalist and an EU citizen. “I entered the country completely legally – to do my job. This is really quite shocking,” he said. |
| The presidential election in Romania will take place over two rounds, on May 4 and May 18. The dates were set in January after Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the initial vote held in November 2024. | The presidential election in Romania will take place over two rounds, on May 4 and May 18. The dates were set in January after Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the initial vote held in November 2024. |
| The original first round had been won by independent candidate Calin Georgescu, a vocal NATO critic and opponent of supplying weapons to Ukraine, who received 23% of the vote. Romania’s top court, however, cited “irregularities” in his campaign and referenced intelligence reports alleging Russian interference—allegations that Moscow denied. | The original first round had been won by independent candidate Calin Georgescu, a vocal NATO critic and opponent of supplying weapons to Ukraine, who received 23% of the vote. Romania’s top court, however, cited “irregularities” in his campaign and referenced intelligence reports alleging Russian interference—allegations that Moscow denied. |
| It later emerged that a TikTok influencer campaign had been funded not by the Kremlin, but by the pro-EU Romanian National Liberal Party (PNL), which has governed the country for much of the past three decades. Its most prominent member, Nicolae Ciuca, was a losing candidate in the November election. | It later emerged that a TikTok influencer campaign had been funded not by the Kremlin, but by the pro-EU Romanian National Liberal Party (PNL), which has governed the country for much of the past three decades. Its most prominent member, Nicolae Ciuca, was a losing candidate in the November election. |