On Thursday, the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office declared a Latvia-based Russian language independent news website, Meduza, “undesirable,” claiming that its activities “constitute a threat to the foundation of the constitutional order and security of the Russian Federation.”
Overview
Anyone who likes or shares any article from the website is liable to receive a heavy fine or imprisonment. The Russian Justice Ministry labelled Meduza a “foreign agent” in April 2021.
For ref, @UndesirableASh got a suspended sentence for 'cooperating' with an 'undesirable' organisation; another activist got 20 months in prison
— Sarah Rainsford (@sarahrainsford) January 26, 2023
'Undesirable' means Russia defines a gp a security threat. So it's decided @meduzaproject journalists, independent media, are a danger
According to a 2015 law, any foreign organisation can be deemed “undesirable,” effectively banning its operations in the country and sentencing the Russians involved with it to penalties or jail terms. The law further allows such organisations’ assets and funds to be seized.
Furthermore, another law mandates Russian organisations that receive foreign funding to declare themselves as “foreign agents” — both labels are used to suppress dissent.
Russian investigative news media outlets iStories, Proekt, and Dutch-based Bellingcat are among more than 50 organisations that are currently on the “undesirable” list.
Meduza Will Not “Give Up”
Meduza CEO Galina Timchenko on Thursday said that the decision “was not completely unexpected.” “Since the start of the war [in Ukraine], we knew it was just a matter of time. So, we were prepared and it has not frightened us,” she asserted, adding, “We won’t give up.”
Meduza was recognized an undesirable organization in Russia. It is a criminalization of their work and everyone who cooperates with this it (past as well)
— Anton Barbashin (@ABarbashin) January 26, 2023
We @RiddleRussia got that status a bit earlier - I can only say - don't congratulate them with "recognition".
It's not fun
Similarly, Meduza’s Editor-in-Chief Ivan Kolpakov called it a “very bad status,” stressing, “It is simply ridiculous to talk about our work as a threat to Russia’s constitutional order.”
He mentioned that though Meduza was already blocked, the Russian authorities “were extremely frustrated that Meduza continued to operate, retained the audience, journalists in Russia, [and] extensive coverage of Russian developments.”
In an article on Meduza on Friday, the team vowed to “not submit to Russia’s Internet censorship,” and claimed that they “will find ways to operate in these new conditions” and fight for free speech.
Shutdown of MHG
On a similar note, the Moscow City Court ordered the shutdown of Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG), the oldest human rights group in Russia, on Wednesday, citing violations of “legal requirements,” including conducting activities across the country despite being termed a ‘regional’ group.
“The shutdown of the organisation is the final nail in the coffin in the destruction of the human rights movement in Russia,” said MHG member Lev Ponomarev.
Decision to shut down #MoscowHelsinkiGroup is yet another attack on human rights in Russia
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) January 25, 2023
The Kremlin is extending its aggression in Ukraine into political repression at home, silencing #humanrightsdefenders, suppressing civil society & voices rejecting authoritarianism & war.
Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Marie Struthers, claimed that MHG’s shutdown “will go down in history as a shameful act,” adding that it is “unlawful and must be reversed, and the repression of civil society must stop.”