Alerts | Press passes / accreditation revoked or denied

Dutch journalist expelled from Ukraine for allegedly sharing state secrets

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War correspondent for Dutch newspaper Nederlands Dagblad Robert Dulmers was expelled from Ukraine after he shared video and photos of smoke clouds in the city of Odessa. The journalist had heard a loud bang and shot the smoke clouds from about 30 meters away. Ukrainian authorities accused him of revealing state secrets by sharing the images. Dulmers was taken to a police station where he was told he had lost his military accreditation and his documents were taken. According to Dulmers, the police was rough on him. He told the NL Times he was held in a chokehold and had a gun pointed at his head. He was driven to the border of Moldova with armed men, who gave him his documents back with a text saying he is denied entry to Ukraine until 2023. Dulmers told NL Times that he was surprised by the accusations. He was aware of the stricter rules for journalists in some areas such as Mykolaiv. According to him, no stricter rules were announced for Odessa. Dulmers drove to Romania and considered his necxt stepts there. He asked for the Ukrainian authorities for a clarification about his expulsion.

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