Accessibility links

Breaking News

Russian Court Bailiffs Again Enter RFE/RL's Moscow Bureau


Russian Court Bailiffs Again Enter RFE/RL's Moscow Bureau
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:01:46 0:00

WATCH: Russian Court Bailiffs Again Enter RFE/RL's Moscow Bureau

Court bailiffs have again come to the offices of RFE/RL’s Moscow bureau and Current Time -- photographing computers and other editorial equipment they’ve threatened to seize over unpaid fines imposed under Russia’s controversial “foreign agents” law.

MOSCOW -- Court bailiffs have again come to the offices of RFE/RL’s Moscow bureau and Current Time -- photographing computers and other editorial equipment they’ve threatened to seize over unpaid fines imposed under Russia’s controversial “foreign agents” law.

The move on May 25 came less than two weeks after Russia’s Federal Court Bailiffs Service initiated enforcement proceedings against RFE/RL’s Russian branch over a portion of unpaid fines amounting to 5 million rubles, or about $68,000.

The total amount of fines RFE/RL already faces under Russian court orders is more than 80 million rubles -- just over $1 million.

Altogether, Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor has accused RFE/RL of some 520 violations of labeling rules under the “foreign agents” law.

Once all are adjudicated by Russian courts, they are expected to result in fines of $2.4 million.

RFE/RL has called the fines “a state-sponsored campaign of coercion and intimidation,” while the U.S. State Department has described them as “intolerable.”

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly has called on the Russian government "to stop targeting journalists and blocking the Russian people's access to information."

Earlier this month, RFE/RL representatives filed a complaint against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights.

The "foreign agents" law is increasingly being used against Russian-language media outlets in the country, including RFE/RL. The European Union has called on Moscow to repeal the law.

Peter Stano, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, describes the legislation as “stifling.” Stano says Russia should respect its “international obligations on freedom of association, assembly, and expression.”

“Such actions have the clear intention to hamper RFE/RL’s operations in Russia as part of a wider trend to stifle independent media and critical voices in the country,” Stano says.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Russia to unfreeze the bank accounts used by RFE/RL and to stop labeling media outlets as "foreign agents."

Gulnoza Said, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, says news outlets are being fined and harassed for “alleged violations” of what she calls “an unjust piece of legislation that should be repealed.”

The legislation -- repeatedly modified since it was adopted in 2012 -- is one of several Kremlin-backed measures aimed at restricting foreign-funded activities in Russia.

It requires foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations to be registered and identify themselves as “foreign agents” if they are deemed by Russian authorities to be engaged in political activity.

Such organizations also must submit to audits by Russian authorities.

Later modifications of the law targeted foreign-funded media, including RFE/RL’s Russian Service, six other RFE/RL Russian-language news services, and Current Time, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.

It has been further expanded to include individual journalists.

A parallel measure known as the “undesirable organizations” law has forced the closure of nongovernmental civil society groups in Russia, mainly from Europe and the United States.

With reporting by RFE/RL’s Russian Service and Current Time

Related

  • NPR: Russia's 'Foreign Agent' Law Targets Journalists, Activists, Even Ordinary Citizens (July 31, 2021)
  • The Washington Post | Josh Rogin, "Biden should tell Putin to stop harassing U.S. news organizations in Russia" (June 15, 2021)
  • The Atlantic, "The Cost of Trump After Trump" (June 15, 2021)
  • NPR, "5 Things To Watch At The Biden-Putin Summit" (June 14, 2021)
  • American Purpose, "Defending Journalists against Gangsters" (June 14, 2021)
  • The Washington Post | Editorial: "Biden’s test in Europe: Drawing red lines with Putin and Erdogan" (June 12, 2021)
  • The Washington Post | Sen. Jim Risch: "Biden wants Russia’s cooperation. But Putin thrives on chaos." (June 11, 2021)
  • Newsweek | Ilan Berman, "Four Priorities For The Biden-Putin Summit" (June 10, 2021)
  • European Parliament | Resolution, "The listing of German NGOs as 'undesirable organisations' by Russia and the detention of Andrei Pivovarov" (June 10, 2021)
  • U.S. Mission to the OSCE, "On Shrinking Space for Civil Society in Russia" (June 10, 2021)
  • Novaya Gazeta, "«Эвакуация» «Свободы». 30 лет спустя" (June 8, 2021)
  • Voice of America, "Russia Using Foreign Agent Law to Attack Journalism, Media Say" (June 10, 2021)
  • Senate Foreign Relations Committee | Hearing: “U.S. Policy on Belarus” (June 8, 2021)
  • The Dispatch, "How Moscow Is Threatening Radio Free Europe and the Remnants of the Independent Press" (Jun 1, 2021)
  • Columbia Journalism Review | Joel Simon, "Repression and Reciprocity in Russia" (May 25, 2021)
  • The Washington Post editorial, "Russia’s attack on U.S. media has become a test case" (May 21, 2021)
  • The New York Times, Kremlin Escalates Fight With U.S.-Funded Journalists, Officials Say (May 20, 2021)
  • Axios World, "Radio Free Europe fights to continue operations in Russia" (May 20, 2021)
  • NPR, "Russia Cracks Down On U.S. Broadcaster RFE/RL" (May 15, 2021)
  • AP, "Russian bailiffs show up at US broadcaster’s office" (May 14, 2021)
  • Reuters, "Russia freezes Moscow bank accounts of U.S. broadcaster RFE/RL" (May 14, 2021)
  • Deutsche Welle, "Russia freezes bank accounts of US broadcaster RFE/RL" (May 15, 2021)
  • Moscow Times, "Moscow Bailiffs Visit RFE/RL Newsroom Over ‘Foreign Agent’ Fines" (May 14, 2021)
  • International Press Institute, "Media face financial ruin under Russian 'foreign agent' law" (May 10, 2021)
  • The Washington Post editorial, "The ominous lessons Putin is learning from Xi Jinping" (May 7, 2021)
  • The Guardian, "Kremlin bears down on Moscow bureau of US-funded radio station" (May 5, 2021)
  • The Washington Examiner, opinion by Ted Lipien on Russia's campaign against RFE/RL (May 3, 2021)
  • U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentions RFE/RL in World Press Freedom Day statement (May 2, 2021)
  • U.S. State Department spokesman on RFE/RL in Russia (Apr 29, 2021)
  • U.S. Mission to OSCE on RFE/RL in Russia (Apr 29, 2021)
  • The Washington Post editorial, on RFE/RL, Meduza and the "foreign agent" law (Apr 26, 2021)
  • The Power Vertical podcast - RFE/RL's Jamie Fly and Kiryl Sukhotski on "“Truth, Lies, And Foreign Agents: The Kremlin’s War On RFE/RL"
  • The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum on Putin's rationale for forcing RFE/RL out of Russia (Apr 22, 2021)
  • AP on RFE/RL's petition for "interim measures" at the ECtHR (Apr 16, 2021)
  • Reuters on RFE/RL's petition for "interim measures" at the ECtHR (Apr 16, 2021)
  • AFP on RFE/RL's petition for "interim measures" at the ECtHR (Apr 16, 2021)
  • AlJazeera on RFE/RL's petition for "interim measures" at the ECtHR (Apr 16, 2021)
  • Foreign Podicy podcast (FDD) - RFE/RL's Jamie Fly and Andrey Shary on "Putin vs. The Press" (Apr 10, 2021)
  • Reuters on Russia's pressure on RFE/RL (Apr 7, 2021)
  • AFP (via The Moscow Times) on Russia's pressure on RFE/RL (Apr 7, 2021)
  • U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, following meeting with USAGM Acting CEO Kelu Chao, on RFE/RL in Russia (Apr 6, 2021)
  • U.S, Agency For Global Media, following meeting with Secretary of State Blinken, on RFE/RL in Russia (Apr 6, 2021)
  • The Washington Post writes about the "foreign agent" law and its impact on Russian NGO's and RFE/RL (Apr 3, 2021)
  • U.S. Mission to OSCE on RFE/RL in Russia (Mar 18, 2021)
  • EU Mission to OSCE on RFE/RL in Russia (Mar 18, 2021)
  • Reporters Without Borders on RFE/RL in Russia (Mar 16, 2021)
  • U.S. Senators on RFE/RL in Russia (Mar 12, 2021)
  • U.S. State Department spokesman on RFE/RL in Russia (Mar 3, 2021)
  • The Washington Post editorializes about RFE/RL in Russia (Feb 12, 2021)
  • The New York Times, "Russia Pushes U.S.-Funded News Outlet Toward Exit" (Jan 21, 2021)
  • U.S. Members of Congress on RFE/RL in Russia (Jan 21, 2021)​
  • Committee to Protect Journalists on RFE/RL and Russia's expanded "foreign agent" law (Jan 14, 2021)
XS
SM
MD
LG