Russian president signed a decree that, according to the Kremlin, serves to combat fake news. Journalists who refer to the Russian incursion into Ukraine as “war” or “invasion” can be sentenced to 15 years in prison. press censorship in the country. According to the Russian government, the new legislation serves to combat fake news. In practice, it raises barriers to the dissemination of information, particularly about the conflict in Ukraine.
Journalists who use the terms “war” or “invasion” in connection with the Russian incursion into Ukrainian soil can be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. According to the Kremlin, what is taking place in Ukraine is a “special military operation”.
The penalties for those who “spread false information” or publicly demand sanctions from Russia for the invasion of Ukraine can be up to three years in prison or fines. The 15-year sentence could be imposed if the country’s courts judge the news to cause “grave consequences”.
After blocking Facebook in the country, Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor “restricted access” to the social network Twitter, according to Russian news agencies. An AFP journalist reported that Twitter was no longer updating the feed in the country.
The actions against social media maintain the line of restrictions already imposed on other networks, such as the British BBC, the American Voice of America, the radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty – which is based in Prague, Czech Republic, but is financed by the government. from the USA –, the website Meduza, from Latvia, and the German Deutsche Welle.
According to Vyacheslav Volodin, spokesman for the lower house of the Russian parliament, the measure “will force those who lie and make statements that discredit our armed forces to suffer severe punishment. I want everyone to understand, and society to understand, that we are doing this to protect our soldiers and officers, and to protect the truth,” Volodin said.
Stampede of communication vehicles
Due to the approval and signing of the new law, several international press organizations suspended their operations in Russia.
“CNN will stop broadcasting in Russia as we continue to assess the situation and our next steps,” a spokesperson said.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp has temporarily suspended its reporting from the country.
“The CBC is very concerned about the new legislation passed in Russia, which appears to criminalize independent reporting on the current situation in Ukraine and Russia,” it said in a statement.
Bloomberg News said it was also “temporarily suspending the work of its journalists”.
“The change in the penal code, which seems designed to turn any independent reporter into a criminal purely by association, makes it impossible to continue any normal exercise of journalism in the country,” said Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait.
Russian newspaper removes content about Ukraine
To avoid sanctions, the independent Russian newspaper Novaïa Gazeta, whose editor was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, announced on Friday the removal of content about Ukraine.
“The law sanctioning ‘fake news’ about actions by the Russian armed forces came into force (…), we are obliged to remove a lot of content, but we decided to continue working,” the newspaper said on its website.
“The Attorney General’s Office and Roskomnadzor [órgão regulador] demand that Novaïa Gazeta and other independent media remove content that describes military operations on Ukrainian territory as war, aggression or invasion,” the newspaper explained, warning that “otherwise there will be huge fines and the prospect of media liquidation.”
To make the decision, Novaïa Gazeta carried out a survey with its subscribers. Of the roughly 6,500 people who responded, 94% voted to “continue working under military censorship, meeting the authorities’ demands”, while only 6% spoke out in favor of a “suspension of newsroom work until the end of the ‘special operation’ ”.
gb (AP, Lusa)
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