Russia’s Ministry of Justice has recently added more journalists to its list of ‘foreign agents,’ including BBC journalists Ilya Abishev and Elizaveta Fokht.
The BBC said that it strongly rejects the decision, pointing out that BBC News Russian journalists have been singled out, following the earlier cases of Ilya Barabanov, Anastasia Lotareva, Andrey Kozenko, and Olga Ivshina.
Since 2012, Russia’s foreign agent law has been used by authorities to target groups and individuals who are critical of the Kremlin.
BBC News Global director and BBC Deputy CEO, Jonathan Munro said, “It has now become a routine exercise for the Russian authorities to add BBC News Russian journalists to their list of ‘foreign agents’. The BBC wholly condemns this ongoing attempt to intimidate and silence our journalists. Aiming at having a disruptive and damaging effect, these arbitrary designations can’t stop our journalists doing their jobs. Journalism is not a crime, and our reporters will continue serving our Russian-speaking audiences just as they have done for almost 80 years: Independently, fairly, and fearlessly. We are proud of all our journalists. We will challenge these actions by the Russian authorities in the courts. These journalists have our total support.”
BBC News Russian is part of BBC World Service.
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