Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- The British journalist expelled from Russia was denied entry when he came back to the country because "he violated a number of rules concerning the work of foreign correspondents," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its website Tuesday. Luke Harding, the Moscow reporter for the Guardian newspaper, was detained by Russian authorities, locked in a cell for 45 minutes, and then put on a plane back to London, according to an article in the Guardian Tuesday. He had been returning to Moscow after spending two months in London reporting on the U.S. diplomatic cables published by the website WikiLeaks.
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NEW: Russia said Harding violated rules involving the work of correspondents
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Luke Harding has covered major stories in Russia since 2007
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Russian authorities reprimanded Harding last year
@placeholder's treatment of journalists -- both domestic and foreign -- is a cause of great concern," Rusbridger said.