Russia’s head of Federal Migration has said that the decision to expel prominent French journalist and author Anne Nivat earlier this week was “groundlessly harsh”, and that she will be allowed to return. Nivat was expelled from the country on 13 February for alleged violation of her visa status. The journalist believed the move to be politically motivated, with authorities expressing their disliking that she had met with opposition politicians as part of her research for a book on Russia’s current political climate.