Russian law enforcement authorities placed German newspaper correspondent Michael Martens in an international wanted database, according to a source cited by the Russian state news agency TASS. A Russian court had previously ordered the German journalist’s arrest in his absence in connection with remarks that authorities interpreted as incitement against Russians.
The reported listing seeks Martens’ detention and extradition to Russia. Authorities opened a criminal case by invoking Article 282, the Russian code provision concerning incitement of hatred or hostility, the source said. A conviction under that charge could carry a prison sentence of up to six years. The available report did not say that Martens had been detained, extradited or tried.
The case stems from a press conference held in Belgrade on August 8 alongside Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the event, Martens asked how European governments might contribute to increasing the number of Russians killed. Russian officials interpreted his wording as an appeal for lethal action against Russian people. The report did not provide the wider exchange in which the question was asked, leaving its full context outside the supplied evidence.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described what she said were Martens’ calls for murder as both unacceptable and criminal. An online petition seeking his removal from his journalism position also appeared after the press conference. The report did not include a response from Martens or from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung to the charge, wanted notice or petition.
The sequence described by the source began with the remarks in Belgrade, followed by the opening of the Article 282 case, an arrest decision made without Martens present and the subsequent international wanted listing. Each step represents an action or allegation by Russian authorities; none establishes a conviction. Any effort to secure extradition would also depend on Martens being found in another jurisdiction and on legal procedures there.
The matter places a foreign correspondent’s public question inside Russia’s criminal-law framework even though the comment occurred outside the country. At the same time, the narrow evidence base leaves important points unanswered, including the exact court issuing the arrest order, the date of that ruling, Martens’ whereabouts and whether a formal request has reached any foreign government.
The wanted-list step itself does not determine whether another country will act on Russia’s request.
For now, the principal development is the reported escalation from a domestic criminal investigation to an international search notice. Martens remains accused in absentia, and the maximum six-year penalty would apply only if he were prosecuted and convicted under the cited provision.
