A bill submitted to the Russian Parliament’s Duma would further intensify censorship of independent media in Russia and put at risk the work of all media companies and foreign journalists in the country that are not under government protection.
If passed, it would authorize the Attorney General to deregister media companies and deport reporters without due process, as it currently stands.
Shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia approved. fake news law This punishes those who publish what the government considers to be fake news about the war, with up to 15 years in prison.
Proposed law to increase censorship in Russia
According to the news on the Russian website, the proposal was prepared by deputies who are members of the commission to combat “foreign interference” in the country. Medusa. The text was scheduled to be discussed last week, but its discussion has been postponed.
Vladimir Putin’s government would not even need a new law to censor foreign media. Last week, Canada’s public broadcaster closed its Moscow office and professionals were told they would leave the country in three weeks in response to a similar move by the Canadian government to state-run Russia Today.
However, the new legislation will formalize the power to intervene where there is no justification for expulsion or cancellation of the media recording. As Vladimir Putin dominates the parliamentary assembly, it is likely to be ratified like the previous law.
Russian independent media reported the bill with great concern.
According to the text submitted to parliament, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia will have the right to request Roskomnadzor, the country’s state media regulator, to revoke the licenses of vehicles that spread “false information” about army activities in “threatening” conditions. to the life, health and safety of citizens or gross violations of public order.
According to the bill, Medusa, also authorizes the government to ban foreign media from operating in Russia. This is a response to the shutdown of Russian media outlets in other countries such as the UK.
It also allows for the suspension of credentials of reporters located in the area. Some were deported last year and others left the country after the fake news law passed, but others remained.
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The document also proposes to hold journalists and media companies accountable for republishing material from other media that contains “false information” about the use of Russian military forces abroad.
in the context of occupation of UkraineThis means, for example, Russian sites that upload text from foreign news agencies can be sued or even shut down.
This Medusa He points out that according to the current legislation, the government can only forcibly suspend the activities of a media organization with a court order.
And this is only if it is proven that the publication repeatedly abused “freedom of mass media” over the course of a year.
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The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) criticized the draft law and urged Russian lawmakers to refuse to consider the text.
The bill was scheduled to be discussed in the Duma on Wednesday, 18th, but the debate has been postponed to May 24, according to CPJ’s Russian media outlet Sota.Vision.
Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s program coordinator for Europe and Central Asia in New York, noted that censorship in Russia has since significantly reduced local independent media. adoption of fake news law It came into force at the beginning of the war against Ukraine.
“This law is another blow to press freedom and effectively prevents any reporting that contradicts government policy,” he said.
“The State Duma should not pass this proposed law and the authorities should allow the media to operate freely.”
Project to intensify censorship in Russia comes months after media ban of ‘war’
The new bill, which could increase censorship in Russia, came to the country’s parliament just months after the legislation changes following the invasion of Ukraine.
The law, passed in early March, bans “fake news” about Vladimir Putin’s government’s “special operations” in neighboring territories – meaning that domestic and foreign vehicles operating in the country are prohibited from calling “war” “war.” ”, or even “invasion”.
This Roskomnadzor also ordered the nationwide media to publish only information provided by official sources.
Since the enactment of this law, international media companies such as the New York Times, EFE and CNN, closed offices and teams withdrew from Russia.
Local vehicles were badly affected. they have reports Escape of more than 150 journalists In addition to the increasing pressure from independent newspapers such as Novaya Gazeta, directed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov.
Required publication Suspend print and online editions in Russian after notification from the state regulatory agency. In response, the European version of the tool was announced by the editorial team.
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Aleksei Obukhov, editor of the independent news outlet Sota.Vision, told CPJ that the new law submitted to parliament could legitimize a situation that is not new in Russia.
“The situation where the Attorney General can shut down any media outlet just because he doesn’t like it will be officially legalized, but it’s been a de facto situation for a long time.”
According to Obukhov, the bill does not introduce significant changes in the situation of Russian journalists, but “legalizes the status quo”.
“There is no independent media in Russia in the classical sense with websites and reports. All of their activities are blocked or suspended.”
The editor explained that most independent media outlets have switched to social media and Telegram, which are more difficult for the government to block as Russian citizens rely on these technologies to communicate.
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source: Noticias
