Journalist slams UK sanctions against himself as baseless
Phillips learned the news on his way to Severodonetsk, where he plans to deliver a batch of humanitarian assistance
UK journalist and blogger Graham Phillips said on Tuesday the UK government had imposed sanctions on him without any actual accusations and without an opportunity to defend himself.
“So all my assets have been frozen, and I’ve been slandered on a state level by the British government without any notification, without any opportunity to defend myself. No official charges against me, not even any actual accusations against me. Just that…. the British government don’t like my work. And for that they can seize my bank accounts from me, for starters, as other machinations are doubtless afoot,” the journalist wrote in his Telegram channel.
Phillips learned the news on his way to Severodonetsk, where he plans to deliver a batch of humanitarian assistance.
On Tuesday, the United Kingdom included the journalist into its blacklist of individuals, sanctioned over the events in Ukraine. The list describes him as a “a video blogger who has produced and published media content that supports and promotes actions and policies which destabilize Ukraine and undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine.”
In 2014, Graham Phillips was among the press that covered the eastern Ukrainian conflict. Along with Abkhazian journalist Vadim Aksyonov, he was listed as missing during the battle for the airport of Donetsk. Later, it turned out that the two were captured by the Ukrainian military. Later, the journalist was released, but Kiev imposed a three-year entry ban on him.
