Moscow court orders in-absentia arrest of FAZ journalist Martens

MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. Moscow’s Basmanny District Court has ordered the arrest in absentia of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) correspondent Michael Martens in a criminal case concerning remarks about the killing of Russians, a participant in the proceedings told TASS.

"The court ordered Martens’ pretrial detention in absentia," the source said.

On August 8, at a press conference in Belgrade with Vladimir Zelensky and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, FAZ journalist Martens asked what European countries could do to "help kill more Russians." An online petition demanding the journalist’s dismissal was launched following the incident. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Martens’ calls for the murder of Russians were unacceptable and criminal.