The Leninsky District Court of Kursk issued an in absentia arrest order for France 24 journalist Catherine Norris Trent and several other unidentified individuals on Tuesday. In a statement issued on Telegram, the court alleges that the group crossed into the Sudzhansky District of Kursk illegally while filming a report with Ukrainian armed forces.

According to France 24, its journalists were embedded with the Ukrainian military and were granted access to Ukrainian-held areas of Kursk following the country’s incursion into the region.

The Russian court, acting on a petition from the Border Directorate of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB), charged Trent with a crime under Part 3 of Article 322 of Russia’s Criminal Code. This article prohibits the illegal crossing of Russia’s borders, with Part 3 specifically covering cases involving prior conspiracy, organized groups, or the use or threat of violence, and carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. According to the Kursk judicial system’s press service, Trent will be detained if arrested in Russia or if she is extradited to the country.

Trent’s arrest order follows similar prosecutions initiated by the FSB against foreign journalists reporting from Ukraine-occupied regions of Kursk since August 6, 2024. According to the Coalition for Women in Journalism, 14 foreign journalists have faced allegations, which the organization denounced as “flagrant violations” against journalists. The press release further states:

The unwarranted suppression of media practitioners, coupled with the criminalization of their journalistic endeavors, represents a severe encroachment on press freedom and a recurring strategy employed by the Russian government to manipulate information dissemination.

Under the Third Geneva Convention, journalists who accompany an adversary’s military forces as war correspondents may be detained by a party to the conflict as prisoners of war, but must generally be released immediately and repatriated upon the end of hostilities.

In a recurring trend, foreign journalists and opposition activists working in Russia frequently face criminal prosecution for reporting on the war, particularly with charges relating to espionage and “disseminating false information” about Russia’s military. Detained journalists have subsequently been used as leverage in prisoner exchanges with the Us.