Novaya Gazeta Ceases Operations in Russia: UK and Finland Issue Joint Statement Calling on Moscow to End Repression of Independent Media
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on November 9 issued a joint statement in which the United Kingdom and Finland, as Co-Chairs of the Media Freedom Coalition, called on Russia to end its repression of independent media. Earlier the same day, Novaya Gazeta, the prominent independent Russian newspaper, formally ceased its operations inside Russia.
The statement said that today, after more than 30 years, Novaya Gazeta has ceased its operations inside the country, and that its closure is a stark reminder of the sustained pressure facing independent journalism in Russia.
For decades, the statement said, Novaya Gazeta and its journalists have reported on corruption, repression and human rights abuses, often at great personal risk. It remembered the reporters whose work cost them their lives, including Anna Politkovskaya.
The Russian authorities continue to use repressive legislation to crack down on media freedom, the statement said, and independent journalists face serious personal risks in carrying out their work, including arrest, detention, harassment and political imprisonment.
Finland and the UK said they stand in solidarity with independent journalists and media workers in Russia and in exile who continue their work despite these pressures, and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, including all unlawfully imprisoned journalists.
The statement called on the Russian authorities to allow journalists and media workers to work freely and safely, end the repression of independent media and journalists, and uphold their international human rights obligations. Independent media plays a vital role in ensuring people have access to reliable information and in holding those in power to account, it said.
Founded in Moscow in 1993, Novaya Gazeta became known for its investigative reporting, and its former editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. In September this year, the paper's entire editorial team was designated as "foreign agents" by the Russian authorities. The paper announced on October 30 that it was being forced to close, a move UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described at the time as another blow to Russia's remaining independent media.
Related: Russia: Novaya Gazeta Forced to Close, UN Rights Chief Calls It Another Blow to Independent Media
(Source: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)
Source: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：《新报》前总编辑、2021年诺贝尔和平奖得主德米特里·穆拉托夫（Dmitry Muratov）2023年2月在爱沙尼亚 Tallinn 出席人权会议（资料图）。Metsavend 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Dmitry Muratov, former editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, at a human rights conference in Tallinn, Estonia, in February 2023 (file photo). By Metsavend, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
