On Monday, BBC investigative journalist Andrei Zakharov said he felt compelled to leave Russia for “exile” in the United Kingdom due to “unprecedented surveillance.”
In a BBC News Russian report about journalists designated as foreign agents, Zakharov mentioned the state’s heightened monitoring of his activities. However, he refused to say who was watching him and added that he was unsure as to why he was being followed. He said: “It is not yet clear what the surveillance was connected with: my being designated as a ‘foreign agent’ or maybe my reporting on hackers from the Evil Corp group, which I did together with my British colleagues.”
In 2019, the United States Treasury Department sanctioned 17 individuals and seven legal entities affiliated with Evil Corp, “a Russia-based cybercriminal organisation.”
Я называю это грустным, но точным словом «изгнание».
— Andrey Zakharov (@skazal_on) December 27, 2021
ДАННОЕ СООБЩЕНИЕ (МАТЕРИАЛ) СОЗДАНО И (ИЛИ) РАСПРОСТРАНЕНО ИНОСТРАННЫМ СРЕДСТВОМ МАССОВОЙ ИНФОРМАЦИИ, ВЫПОЛНЯЮЩИМ ФУНКЦИИ ИНОСТРАННОГО АГЕНТА, И (ИЛИ) РОССИЙСКИМ ЮРИДИЧЕСКИМ ЛИЦОМ, ВЫПОЛНЯЮЩИМ ФУНКЦИИ ИНОСТРАННОГО АГЕНТА pic.twitter.com/lEnXkEmQvf
Russian authorities designated Zakharov as a “foreign agent” back in October. The BBC condemned the move and said they would try to overturn the decision. However, on Monday, the news organisation refused to comment on Zakharov, who investigated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal history, Russian meddling in the 2016 US Presidential election, and local disinformation outlets.
Russia’s interior ministry has also refused to comment on Zakharov’s surveillance claims. The Kremlin has often said that journalists and media outlets designated as “foreign agents” can continue to work in Russia. Last week, Putin claimed that Russia’s foreign agents’ laws are more liberal than their Western counterparts. However, rights groups have criticised the law, calling it repressive and saying it was introduced to penalise critics and suppress dissent.
Zakharov’s exile comes amid an extensive crackdown on media outlets that the authorities in Moscow deem hostile and backed by foreign agents. In August, another BBC journalist Sarah Rainsford had to leave Russia after authorities refused to extend her work permit in retaliation to British officials’ decision to not renew the visa of a Russian journalist working for state news agency TASS in London
The foreign agent legislation adopted in 2012 has been used to crackdown on independent media and civil society. As of 2021, Russia has recognised at least a hundred people as foreign agents. Those labelled as foreign agents must declare their status in all content and submit regular financial reports and detailed lists of spending and income.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin did not invite Novaya Gazeta, the Russian newspaper known for its critical coverage of Putin, to the President’s annual press conference last week. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the government “forgot” to call representatives from the newspaper.