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| Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty suspends operations in Russia |
| 2022-03-06 |
| [JPost] Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) announced early Sunday morning that it is suspending operations in Russia after local tax authorities initiated bankruptcy proceedings against the news agency's Russian entity and authorities intensified pressure against independent media. The news agency stated that a years-long pressure campaign has targeted RFE/RL. The news agency opened its Moscow bureau in 1992 at the invitation of then president Boris Yeltsin. The bankruptcy proceedings come after Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor issued 1,040 violations against RFE/RL because the news agency failed to accompany all of its Russian-language content with a state-mandated warning that the agency is a "foreign agent." The violations have resulted in fines of over $13.4 million. On Saturday, Russia's communications watchdog restricted access to RFE/RL and several other foreign news organizations' websites for spreading what it called false information. A law recently signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin imposes a jail term of up to 15 years for people who intentionally spread "fake" information about Russia's armed forces. |
| Posted by:Frank G |