Russian Civic Chamber Did Not Send Malkevich as Observer for US Midterms - Chamber's Head

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th November, 2018) Member of the Russian Civic Chamber and head of the USA Really news agency Alexander Malkevich, who had been detained at airport in Washington, had traveled to the United States as a journalist at the invitation of the US side, the chamber's secretary, Valery Fadeev, told Sputnik on Sunday, adding that the Civic Chamber did not send Malkevich as an observer for Tuesday's midterm elections.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Embassy in the United States said that it had sent a request to the US Department of State to inquire about Malkevich's detention. On Thursday, the Russian Civic Chamber said via its official website that the journalist, who is also first deputy chairman of the chamber's Commission on Development of Information Community, Mass Media and Mass Communications, had visited the US state of Maryland during the midterm elections as a public observer.

"He was invited as a journalist, there was some kind of journalist conference about modern media.

He told me that he was going there to participate in discussions," Fadeev said.

At the same time, Fadeev stressed that the Civic Chamber had not sent him as an observer for the elections.

"No, no observation. The chamber has nothing to do either with elections or observation in the United States," the camber's secretary said.

Fadeev also noted that the chamber was preparing a statement regarding the incident.

According to the Russian Federal News Agency (FAN), which launched the USA Really project, Malkevich was detained by FBI agents late on Friday.

Malkevich told Sputnik that he had already left the United States and was currently in Paris. According to the member of the Russian Civic Chamber, he covered the US midterm elections as a journalist. Malkevich also said that the US authorities had asked him register the USA Really project as a "foreign agent."