Thomas Nilsen is editor of the Barents Observer, an online newspaper with newsdesk in the very north of Norway. Focusing on the Barents Euro-Arctic region and northern Russia, the Barents Observer publishes in English and Russian language and also has a pilot Chinese edition. Thomas Nilsen has been working with cross-border journalism for 30 years and has travelled extensively in northern Russia. However, since 2017 he is banned from entry Russia and in February 2019 the Barents Observer was blocked in Russia by Kremlin's media-agency, the Roskomnadzor. Also, the security service FSB in 20915 requested Norwegian officials to shut down the newspaper. "Freedom to write, freedom to publish" has become the slogan of Barents Observer.