Russia restricts Dutch-based 'Moscow Times,' deeming it 'undesirable'
2 Min Read
Russian prosecutors deemed The Moscow Times "undesirable" due to its partnership with the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
-
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a government meeting via videoconference from the Kremlin, on July 19, 2023. (AFP)
Dutch-based English news outlet, The Moscow Times, was deemed "undesirable" by Russia's Prosecutor General's Office on Wednesday, restricting its operations in Russia.
“The work of the outlet is aimed at discrediting the decisions of the leadership of the Russian Federation in both foreign and domestic policy,” the office said in a statement, adding that the website has been restricted “due to systematic publication of articles that included false information of public interest,” namely the war in Ukraine.
"Undesirable" organizations, including media outlets, are prohibited from operating in Russia, where the Prosecutor's General Office has the authority to blacklist foreign NGOs and institutions.
Russian prosecutors deemed The Moscow Times "undesirable" since it is in partnership with a US-funded conglomerate, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, another banned media outlet in the country.
The Moscow Times was originally an ads-free news outlet about Russia, targeted at expatriates and tourists, founded in 1992 by Dutch media mogul Derk Sauer. In 2017, the newspaper transitioned to the online space and began reporting in Russian in 2020.
Following the start of the war with Ukraine in 2022, the news outlet moved its newsroom to Amsterdam.
Russia bans over 80 EU media outlets
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced last month that it ceased access to more than 80 EU media outlets due to their spread of disinformation amid the Ukraine war and in retaliation to the European Council's decision to ban four Russian media outlets from reporting to European audiences.
"The Russian side has repeatedly and at various levels warned that politically motivated harassment of its journalists and unfounded bans on Russian media in the EU will not go unnoticed,” the ministry said, imposing a ban on 81 media outlets from 25 countries.
The media outlets include Germany’s Der Spiegel, Spain’s El Pais, Italy’s La Stampa and La Repubblica newspapers, France's Agence France-Presse, Le Monde, Liberation, as well as the pan-European Politico and EUobserver, on the basis of “systematically disseminate false information."
The ministry stated that they will lift the ban if the European Council reconsiders lifting its restriction on Russian media.
