The reporter Ann-Lor Bonel intervened on CNews on March 1 to condemn the Ukrainian strikes against the Russian-speaking population of Donbass. We go so far as to mention “crimes against humanity.”
Why the journalist is at the heart of the controversy
“Russia is not under attack, it is the aggressor,” Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address on Wednesday (March 2nd). Moscow reacted very quickly through its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, accusing the president of censoring a French journalist: “She who went to Donbass published her observations […] and called on Westerners to face the truth. She was not allowed to make this post, but her comment is available on the Internet, so I invite you to read the facts. ” Here he means the tweets of the French journalist, deleted from the platform.
But Anne-Lor Bonell stood out during her appearance on Cnews, recalling that the conflict in Donbass has been going on for eight years. She said at the time that the Russian-speaking Ukrainian population of Donbass had been targeted by their own government. She was bombed by the Kiev government. Confirming that from the place where she was, “the courts are Ukrainian.” She also mentioned 13,000 deaths since 2014.
What are we accusing her of?
After her appearance on CNews, the enthusiasm was huge on social networks, spreading the false rumor about the suspension of her account. What she has been criticized for is her lack of bias, especially in her 2016 documentary.
Le Monde’s correspondent in Russia, Benoit Vitkin accuses him of targeting only pro-Russian separatists. “She was taken to separatist territories by… officials from those same territories. We heard them in the film asking questions to the witnesses, not to the journalist. ” She defended herself against CheckNews, claiming that she had “requested Kyiv to go to Donbass, but they blocked access to the rebel zone for journalists.” That’s when I learned that I was inadmissible for ten years because I filmed the other side. ”
Another problem: she claims that 13,000 victims have been counted in Donbass since the beginning of the conflict in 2014. Indeed, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the death toll is estimated at 13,000, but we need to clarify it. According to the UN, there are “at least 3,350 civilians, about 4,100 members of the Ukrainian forces and about 5,650 members of pro-Russian armed groups.” Therefore, the majority of them are not civilians. Abuses have been committed on both sides, which unfortunately often happens during armed conflict. However, the International Criminal Court has launched an investigation.
Who is Anne-Lorne Bonell?
The journalist is 40 years old. She presents herself in her biography on Twitter as “True – Reporter – Photojournalist, without filter, without Photoshop, without cropping”. In her Linkedin account, she claims to have been a Spicee reporter and consultant for more than 7 years. Information that this online media would reject according to CheckNews.
During a debate organized by the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association in 2020, she said she “refused to be called a journalist”, saying she was “extremely disappointed with the profession” after going to Donbass. In 2016, she made a documentary in the eastern enclave of Ukraine, standing next to the separatists.