BBC’s veteran Russia journalist Sarah Rainsford will not be allowed to stay in Russia after the end of the month after Moscow refused to renew her journalist visa, according to Bloomberg News. In what is seen as a retaliatory move against the U.K. for refusing to issue visas to Russian journalists, Rainsford will be the fist British journalist to be expelled from Russia since 2011 when The Guardian’s Luke Harding was also denied a visa to stay in the country. The move comes as Moscow continues to try to silence the media, raiding journalists homes and instituting new laws that infringe on freedom of speech. Earlier this week, Russia’s foreign ministry confirmed it had denied entry to unnamed British officials over human rights and anti-corruption sanctions instituted by London.
