Russian officials on Friday labeled Nobel Prize-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov a “foreign agent,” a frequently used measure against critics of Kremlin policies.
Russian news agencies quoted the Ministry of Justice as saying that Muratov, editor of independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and co-laureate of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, was one of several Russian nationals added to the list.
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So-called “foreign agents” were subject to police searches and other punitive measures. Muratov is still in Russia, but many of the list have left the country since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2021.
The Ministry of Justice said that the journalist “created and disseminated material [produzido por] foreign agents and used it to spread negative opinions about Russia’s foreign and domestic policies on international platforms.”
Under Russian law, individuals and organizations that receive funding from abroad can be declared foreign agents, potentially undermining their credibility with the Russian public.
Those considered foreign agents must mark their published works with a notice stating their status.
Novaya Gazeta and Dmitry Muratov gained reputations abroad for their investigative reporting that was often critical of the Kremlin.
He later put his Nobel Prize medal up for auction, noting that the $103.5 million raised would be used to help refugee children from Ukraine.
Novaya Gazeta suspended publication in 2022 in response to legislation imposing severe penalties for discrediting the Ukrainian military operation and Russian soldiers. Many of its journalists have regrouped with a new publication in Latvia.
Among the other Russian nationals added to the list of foreign agents on Friday were another journalist who has written pro-Ukrainian articles, a comedian who opposes the war and a historian from Chechnya, where Russia has fought insurgents in two post-Soviet wars. .
Source: CNN Brasil
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