The Basmanny District Court in Moscow ordered the arrest in absentia of Michael Martens, a correspondent for the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), for two months, according to RBC, Novye Izvestia, and TASS.
Martens is accused under Part 2 of Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code (incitement to hatred or enmity), which carries a penalty of up to six years in prison. The Moscow police headquarters issued a decision to put Martens on the international wanted list on August 13.
The case stems from a question Martens asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on August 8. The journalist asked: "Can you tell us, Europeans, what exactly we can do to help you kill more Russians?" — and immediately corrected himself: "Russian soldiers, of course."
FAZ's editorial office said it regretted the question and called its wording "ambiguous" and "misleading." The newspaper emphasized that the editorial team does not call for killing the maximum number of Russian soldiers but supports Ukraine's right to self-defense, guaranteed by international law. The publication's press service added that freedom of speech includes the right to ask questions, especially at a press conference.
The German Journalists' Union (DJV) noted that Martens faces no risk of extradition to Russia. It also said that the use of international legal mechanisms, such as Interpol's "red notice," by authoritarian states for politically motivated persecution is unacceptable.