The radio station Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is now considered an “undesirable organization” in Russia. RFE/RL itself reported this, stating that it had been included in the relevant register of the Russian Ministry of Justice.
RFE/RL is funded by the U.S. Congress, has correspondents in 23 countries, and serves primarily people living in places where media freedom is severely restricted. For Russian authorities, he was already a “foreign agent,” a term used under Russian law to describe individuals or organizations that the government says receive funds from abroad to carry out anti-government activities. The term “undesirable organization” is even broader, targeting NGOs and international organizations in particular, and exposing both journalists and those working with a particular organization and its donors to potential criminal charges.
According to the registry, RFE/RL is the 142nd organization deemed “undesirable” under Russian law, which has been in effect since 2015. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit organization that defends the press, since 2021 Russia has designated dozens of independent media outlets as “undesirable organizations,” including Meduza, Bellingcat and Novaya Gazeta Europe.
“Millions of Russians have relied on us for decades,” said RFE/FL President Stephen Camus, also pointing to “record ratings in the last few days after the death of Alexei Navalny,” who was also the largest figure in the democracy movement in Russia for a long time internal threat to the power of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “This attempt to suppress us,” Camus continues, “will only make RFE/RL work even harder to bring free and independent journalism to the Russian people.” More than 30 RFE/RL employees are from Russia The Ministry of Justice has already classified them as “foreign agents,” the broadcaster said.
– Also read: After Navalny, what is left of the opposition in Russia?
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