In a controversial move, the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), co-founded by Hollywood actor George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney, has ignited a firestorm of criticism from Russia after revealing plans to seek arrest warrants for Russian journalists. The foundation’s The Docket project aims to prosecute so-called “Russian propagandists” for alleged “incitement to genocide” in Ukraine.
Anna Neistat, the legal director of The Docket, stated that the team wants to encourage individual EU countries and the International Criminal Court to arrest Russian media figures whenever they travel outside of Russia. This proposal has been met with outrage from Russian officials.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the CFJ as “madmen” and suggested that Russian journalists ask them to justify their reasoning. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, accused the foundation of engaging in “Russophobia” and “politically and ethnically motivated criminal prosecution” of journalists.
Zakharova also questioned the silence of UNESCO, the OSCE, and their representatives regarding the murders and threats against Russian journalists by the Ukrainian regime. She pointed out the hypocrisy of Western countries, who ignore these crimes while persecuting Russian media workers for their professional activities.
The head of the State Duma committee on foreign influence in internal affairs, Vasily Piskaryov, warned that Russia will not leave the CFJ’s actions unanswered and may designate the NGO as ‘undesirable’, effectively banning its operations in the country.
The controversy comes amid ongoing tensions between Russia and the West over media coverage of the conflict in Ukraine. The European Union has already banned the broadcast of Russian state media outlets and imposed sanctions on numerous Russian journalists and media executives.
As the battle over press freedom and the narrative of the war continues, the Clooney Foundation’s proposal has added fuel to the fire, drawing sharp condemnation from Russia and raising questions about the limits of free speech and the role of the media in times of conflict. The world watches with bated breath as this high-stakes drama unfolds, with the future of journalism and international relations hanging in the balance.