Chechnya

Wanner had been taken into custody on Thursday, accused of working without the required oversight by Russian authorities. He had been in Chechnya working on a report for Deutsche Welle television, DW-TV, highlighting the reconstruction work being carried out by German aid groups, particularly the Hammer Forum, an organization which offers medical assistance for children in war-torn regions and build hospitals.

At the same time, he was researching the status of overall reconstruction work in the region, looking into if funds slated for rebuilding projects were disappearing, as they had in the past.

However, Wanner was only able to complete part of his filming, since on Thursday he was taken into temporary custody by the Russian secret services agency FSB, and on Friday told to leave the country, despite his having all the necessary accreditations, including a Russian visa, an accreditation from the Russian foreign ministry and a special accreditation for Chechnya.

"Everything was in order," he said. "But I didn't have Russian officials with me and the Russian domestic intelligence services found fault with that."

No reason for official minders

He said western journalist consider it no longer necessary to be accompanied by Russian minders because the government has declared the war to be over for some time now. At the same time, he added, Moscow has announced that there is no longer an active anti-terror operation on the ground. The authorities have insisted that the establishment of public order is their goal.

"That means, there is no longer a state of emergency," Wanner said. "And in a democracy, in which no state of emergency exists, journalists should be free to move around as they please."

Many western journalists have found it necessary to strike out on their own when reporting from the region since research trips organized by Russian authorities generally only take place in large groups. The reporters are often rushed through various locales by their minders and have little opportunity to speak with people.

According to Wanner, everything is done so quickly that most journalists must travel individually in order to do their jobs well.

A number of foreign journalists have been deported from Chechnya on grounds they did not have special permission to work in what authorities call the zone of anti-terrorism operations.