Employees in danger

Moscow bans US broadcaster Radio Free Europe

(Bild: Frank - stock.adobe.com)

The US-founded and financed broadcaster "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)" has been added to Russia's register of "undesirable organizations".

The Kremlin is taking ever tougher action against critical reporting. As has now become known, the activities of the US broadcaster "Radio Free Europe" have now also been banned in the world's largest country. In a document in the database of the Russian Ministry of Justice, which the news agency AFP viewed on Tuesday, the activities of the US-funded medium are declared "undesirable". The ban also threatens the employees of the broadcasting group with legal persecution in Russia.

What is an undesirable foreign organization?
The Kremlin primarily classifies foreign and international, but also originally Russian non-governmental organizations that are no longer allowed to operate in Russia as undesirable foreign organizations.

Moscow has currently classified 142 organizations as "undesirable", including "Greenpeace", the Russian exile media "Meduza", the investigative research network "Bellingcat" and the animal and environmental protection organization "WWF".

Threat of prison sentences
Anyone who cooperates with "undesirable organizations" in Russia must expect heavy fines and, in extreme cases, even imprisonment. RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who holds Russian and US citizenship, is currently in custody in Russia.

Among other things, she is accused of not having registered as a "foreign agent". In Russia, people, media and organizations are branded as foreign agents if they receive money from another country. This is intended to stigmatize them as spies working in the interests of other states.

The Foreign Ministry in Vienna criticized the ban as another ruthless step by the Putin regime to ban independent media and criminalize legitimate, courageous voices. "The demolition of central pillars of a functioning democracy is an obvious sign of weakness," reads the statement on X.

Background
Radio Free Europe was founded in 1949 at the height of the Cold War and broadcast from Munich for decades. At the invitation of then Czech President Vaclav Havel, the radio station moved to Prague in 1995.

In February 2020, the Russian Ministry of Justice classified Radio Free Europe as a foreign agent. The organization itself and its executives were then repeatedly fined. The reason: the necessary marking required under Russian law as a foreign agent was missing. As a result, the broadcaster had to pay a total fine of 998.5 million roubles (approx. 10 million euros).

After the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the "Radio Free Europe" website was blocked in Russia.