Moscow (AFP)
Russian justice on Friday classified the independent television channel Dojd as "foreign agent", a status which could greatly hamper the functioning of this emblematic medium in the run-up to the legislative elections in September.
The name of this paid news channel, which broadcasts on the Internet, now appears on the new official list of "foreign agents", a controversial designation put in place by a law promulgated in 2012.
In Russia, organizations or individuals "foreign agents" must register with the authorities, carry out tedious administrative procedures and clearly indicate this status in their publications.
"The Dojd channel is not a foreign agent (...), it is a Russian media", reacted its editor-in-chief, Tikhon Dziadko, on Telegram messaging, announcing the intention of the editorial staff to appeal this "decision which contradicts the law and common sense".
"Of course, we will continue to work as before," he assured.
The list of "foreign agents" relates in particular to organizations financed from abroad and having "political" activities in Russia.
- One of the last critical media -
Founded in 2010, Dojd, one of the last media critical of Russian power, has received funding from the European Union since 2014, according to its management, in particular for the filming of programs aimed at promoting European values in Russia.
In July, the Russian news website The Insider, which works from Latvia and collaborates in particular with the investigative group Bellingcat, which is the source of several revelations about the Russian secret service, was also classified as an "agent of the 'foreigner".
In April and May, two reputable Russian media - Meduza, based in Latvia, and Vtimes, registered in the Netherlands - had been declared "foreign agents", which, weighing down their advertising revenues, had caused after some weeks closing Vtimes.
The NGO Amnesty International accused the Kremlin in a statement on Friday of "having launched a campaign against independent media aimed at eradicating impartial journalism and" journalistic investigations.
"The stifling law on" foreign agents "must be immediately overturned," Amnesty International's Russian branch official Natalia Zviaguina said in the statement.
Russia has been accused since Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000 of curbing all forms of freedom of expression on television, but online media have long been able to operate relatively freely.
As their audience has increased, especially among the younger generations, they have, however, been targeted in turn and have undergone a turn of the screw from the authorities since the beginning of the year, coinciding with the return to Russia of the opponent Alexeï Navalny, since imprisoned.
The Russian authorities have increased pressure on the independent media in recent months, in particular in the run-up to the legislative elections in September.
© 2021 AFP