The Russian parliament voted in to favor of a legal amendment that will pave the way way for heavy fines and up at 15 years of prison for the propagation of false information on the country’s armed forces.
The Kremlin seeks to ensure what it is version of the war in Ukraine is the one who reaches russian public. Of them of Russia’s largest remaining independent media points sales – popular radio station Ekho Moskvy (the Echo of Moscow) and online news Dozhd channel – closed on Thursday as a result of repression.
In order for the amendment approved by the State Duma to enter into force still needs approval of the Council of State, the second bedroom of parliament as well as the signature of President Vladimir Putin. Both are considered formalities.
The law expressly punishes the dissemination of allegedly false information on the Russian soldiersthe discredit of the Russian armed forces as well as calls for punishments on Russia.
Moscow officially calls the invasion of Ukraine a “military operation” and already banned media from using terms like “attack” Where “invasion.”
Those who refuse to suppress content who violates the new restrictions will be blocked, it has been announced last week. This also applies to broadcast of “false information about the bombardment of Ukrainian cities and death of civilians in Ukraine due to actions of the Russian army.”
Russia media watchdog said on Friday that it had restricted access to the BBC and other independents media websites, tightening controls over the Internet.
Access to websites of the BBC, the independent news website Meduza, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, and Russian-language website of US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Svoboda were “limited” by Roskomnadzor following a request from prosecutors.
The agency said that in each case, the prosecutors’ the application has been filed on On February 24, the day Putin launched son attack on Ukraine.
the invasion claimed hundreds of stimulated lives and claims of war crimes. Ekho Moskvy, which is a liberal-leaning radio station majority-owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom, said on Thursday that it shut down after being taken off air over son coverage of the Ukrainian war.
The authorities had on Monday blocked the Ekho website and took the train station off air as a punishment for spread “deliberately false information”about the conflict.
Editor-in-Head Alexei Venediktov said in a post on Ekho Moskvy’s Telegram channel on Thursday that she would continue to post content on YouTube and social media “despite the decision of the board of directors” who voted for the liquidation of the radio and website.
Ekho Moskvy was founded in 1990 during the final days of Soviet Union.
Russian media have been instructed to publish only information provided by official sources, which describe invasion like a military transaction.
Meanwhile, Russian state-controlled television channels have doubled down on stories about nationalism in Ukraine, while accusing Kyiv of using civilians as well as humans shields in the dispute.
