‘It was about sticking it to the Russians’ – Scott Ritter on seizure of his passport

The American journalist was prevented by the Department of State from attending a major event in St. Petersburg

American journalist Scott Ritter has been prevented from visiting Russia to attend a high-profile event in a move that he claims was motivated by spite on the part of the US Department of State.

Ritter was scheduled to participate in two panel discussions at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) this week. He was stopped from boarding a Turkish Airlines flight on Monday, when US border officials seized his passport, he reported after the incident.

“They didn’t just get me. They got the Russians, and that was the purpose. They stuck it to the Russians,” the vocal critic of US government policies said on his show later in the day.

The former US Marine previously served as a senior UN inspector and was tasked with looking for weapons of mass destruction in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. He opposed the 2003 invasion of the country by the US, and has since expresseed negative opinions of many of Washington’s actions.

In 2011, Ritter was convicted in a sex-offense case in Pennsylvania, which he maintains was a miscarriage of justice. Arising from his conviction, he is obliged to inform the authorities about foreign travel plans at least 21 days in advance. Even if his passport is returned, therefore, he will be forced to skip SPIEF.

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“This was a deliberate ambush,” he said. Ritter said he overheard an airline employee saying that his baggage had been loaded last because they were tipped off that he would not be allowed to leave the country.

The journalist said he was “100% certain” that the Department of State was retaliating against him for his friendly attitude towards Russia. The actions of the US government were “purely spiteful,” since it could just have called him to tell he was grounded, he explained.

The political commentator said he had also planned to attend a security event in Moscow, as well as touring several Russian regions to offer his audience an in-depth view on life in the country. He had given the US authorities notice of these plans, as required.

“I am thinking they’ve freaked out,” he said of US officials. “They saw ‘St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.’ They saw ‘Moscow International Security Conference.’ And they’ve said: ‘Shut this thing down.’ And that’s what they did.”