OSCE Media Freedom Representative calls on Russian authorities to abandon practice of designating journalists and media outlets as ‘foreign agents’
VIENNA, 4 October 2021 – Amid continued designation of journalists and media outlets as ‘foreign agents’ in the Russian Federation, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro today reiterated her grave concern regarding this controversial practice and called on the authorities to abandon it.
On 29 September, the Ministry of Justice expanded its ‘foreign agent’ registers by adding more than 20 individuals and several legal entities, including editor-in-chief Sergei Smirnov of Mediazona media portal, Pyotr Verzilov, its publisher, the company that owns the website, and the OVD-Info media project. These online media are popular for their reports on abuses by law-enforcement agencies.
“I once again call on the Russian authorities to abandon the special regime associated with ‘foreign agent’ status, including the related administrative and criminal sanctions, as it exerts disproportionate interference with the freedom of expression and freedom of the media,” Ribeiro said.
The Representative previously addressed the issue in August 2021 (see: https://www.osce.org/representative-on-freedom-of-media/496291).
Ribeiro also noted reports that on 28 September, the Russian Federal Security Service approved a vast list of non-secret military and military-technical topics on which an individual may not collect information, otherwise he/she may be designated a ‘foreign agent’. She expressed concern that this decision could effectively limit the dissemination of otherwise open information in the public domain and, therefore, hinder free and independent journalism.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.