Overview

• Ekaterina Barabach, a Russian journalist and cinema critic, was exfiltrated to France by Reporters sans frontières (RSF) and is now under their protection.
• Barabach, 64, faced up to ten years in prison under Russia's 'false information' laws for outspoken criticism of the Ukraine invasion.
• She disappeared from house arrest on April 13 after being placed on Russia's wanted list on April 21 by the Federal Penitentiary Service.
• The rescue operation, described by RSF as one of their riskiest, required Barabach to leave her 96-year-old mother behind in Russia.
• This mission follows RSF's 2022 exfiltration of Marina Ovsiannikova, another Russian journalist targeted for anti-war dissent.