Yekaterina Barabash. Photo: RSF

Yekaterina Barabash, a Russian film critic who went on the run from Russian justice, has found refuge in Paris, she revealed at a press conference at the headquarters of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Monday.

RSF helped Barabash leave Russia clandestinely. “I fled — I had no other choice. Journalism no longer exists in Russia,” Barabash said.

An arrest warrant was issued for Barabash on 21 April after she failed to attend a court hearing at which a criminal case against her for spreading “false information” about the Russian military was due to begin.

When Barabash, who is mainly known for her contributions to Russian independent media outlet Republic, did not appear at a scheduled court session in the Moscow region town of Pushkino, her lawyer Mikhail Biryukov said that the defence would “make no comment on the case”. She was consequently added to the police wanted list.

Barabash, 64, was detained in Moscow in late February over a series of social media posts she had written in 2022 and 2023 that were critical of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While she was charged with spreading “false information” about the Russian military, she had her request to await trial under house arrest granted, allowing her to avoid spending months in a pretrial detention centre.

On Wednesday, Barabash’s son revealed that his mother was safe and beyond the reach of Russian justice. The Russian Justice Ministry declared Barabash a “foreign agent” in April.