The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta which announced on Monday March 28 the suspension of its paper and online publication until the end of the Russian “special operation” in Ukraine. This announcement comes after the closure of two government-critical broadcasters: the radio station Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) and the country’s only independent television channel, Dozhd TV.
It was one of the last bastions of the independent press in Russia. Since Monday, Novaya Gazeta suspended its publication until the end of the conflict in Ukraine. In a message to readers, the editor-in-chief and co-winner of Nobel Peace Prize last year, Dmitry Muratovexplained that he had no choice but to make this decision ” awful and difficult “.
The reason: The newspaper received a second warning in a week from the Russian communications regulator. The Russian authorities accuse the investigative newspaper of not having correctly identified an NGO in one of their articles as a “foreign agent”.
This law on “foreign agents” is a weapon used by the government against organizations or individuals critical of the power. And the media must specify each time they mention a “foreign agent”.
Novaya Gazeta had already withdrawn from its site all the archives on Ukraine because of a new law that punishes 15 years in prison any information that the Russian authorities consider to be false around the conflict.