A Russian court has ruled that Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian newspaper that has continued to report critically of the Putin administration, will be deregistered as a news organization.


Muratov, the newspaper's editor-in-chief and Nobel Peace Prize winner, has said he intends to appeal the decision, saying it has "no legal basis."

On the 5th, a court in the capital Moscow announced that the Russian independent newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" will invalidate its registration as a news organization in response to a complaint from the government authority that oversees the media in Russia. .



Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta and last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, told reporters after the court's ruling: "It's a political decision and has no legal basis. I will do it to the end," he said, indicating his intention to appeal.



"Novaya Gazeta" temporarily suspended its activities in March this year, saying, "We have received a warning from the authorities and will stop sending news on our website and in print until the special military operation in Ukraine is over." Although it has been suspended, if the registration is invalidated, it will be impossible to conduct news activities in Russia.



Putin's government has tightened its grip on speech after the military incursion into Ukraine, as it has become more sensitive to media rhetoric critical of the regime's actions.

Former Russian journalist sentenced to 22 years in prison for treason

A former journalist of Russia's leading newspaper Kommersant was sentenced to 22 years in prison on the 5th in a trial in which he was accused of treason for leaking military secrets.



Mr. Ivan Safronov, a former reporter, was detained by the Russian security agency FSB = Federal Security Service on suspicion of passing information on Russian arms exports to the US government through Czech intelligence agencies. He strongly denied the allegations.



According to the state-run Russian news agency, Safronov has appealed his sentence through his lawyer.



After Mr. Safronov was detained two years ago, journalists and supporters of opposition parties critical of the Putin administration held protests demanding his release, and some of the participants were detained. There were growing concerns that it might intensify.



Mr. Safronov's father was also a journalist who was in charge of the military field at "Kommersant". There were voices asking for it.