Journalists, media outlets and NGOs included in the register of “foreign agents”

HRWF/ OVD Info (05.04.2022) – In the first three months of 2022, Russia massively attacked human rights NGOs getting foreign funding, journalists and media outlets.

 

OVD Info in Russia is monitoring the muzzling of freedom of information, the stigmatization of investigation journalists and the closure of NGOs. They are labeled and prosecuted as “foreign agents” which means anti-Russian, spies and potential traitors everybody should keep away from as if they were sick with plague or cholera.

 

“Foreign agents blacklisted in a special public register and warned against

Russia’s foreign agent law dates back to 2012 when it originally applied to non-governmental organizations receiving funds and grants from abroad.

 

In December 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed new legislation that expanded the legal definition of who can be considered a foreign agent. It now includes any private individual or group who receives any amount of foreign funding, whether from foreign governments, organizations or even citizens, and publishes “printed, audio, audio visual or other reports and materials.”

 

Once authorities slap a “foreign agent” tag on people or organizations, they are required to label anything they publish  — even a social media post  — with a disclaimer indicating their status as a “foreign agent.”

 

They are also required to file regular financial statements and reports on their activities every six months with the government, and undergo annual audits.

 

On 18 March 2022, a law on the creation of a new register of “foreign agents” was adopted.  

 

Inoteka interviewed human rights defenders, lawyers and political scientists about how the new register will work and what it means to get into it.

 

 

Documented cases of “foreign agents” persecuted in January – March 2022

 

Use the automatic translation https://www.deepl.com/translator if needed

 

Moscow

The decision to liquidate the Human Rights Center “Memorial” came into force

01.04.2022

All Russia

The Ministry of Justice has included eight more people in the register of “foreign agents” media

30.03.2022

Ryazan region

Coordinator of “Voice” in Ryazan Sofia Ivanova was refused to remove the status of “foreign agent”

28.03.2022

All Russia

The Ministry of Justice has included Deutsche Welle in the register of “foreign agents” media

24.03.2022

All Russia

The Ministry of Justice has replenished the register of NGOs – “foreign agents”

22.03.2022

Moscow

The Supreme Court refused to postpone the liquidation of the “International Memorial” at the request of the ECHR

18.03.2022

Pskov region

The editor-in-chief of “Pskov province” Denis Kamalyagin left Russia

16.03.2022

Irkutsk region

In Irkutsk, the court refused to remove the status of “foreign agent” from historian Alexei Petrov

15.03.2022

St. Petersburg

Ivan Pavlov’s lawyer refused to be excluded from the register of “foreign agents”

11.03.2022

Moscow

The court in Moscow refused to remove the status of “foreign agent” from the ex-lawyer of “Team 29” and “Russian LGBT Network”

10.03.2022

All Russia

The Duma approved in the second reading the inclusion in the register of employees of NGOs and the media declared “foreign agents”

05.03.2022

Ivanovo region

The court in Ivanovo refused to remove the status of “foreign agent” from the participant of “Voice” Ilya Pigalkin

22.02.2022

Moscow

The court fined a journalist of “Important Stories” under the law on “foreign agents”

18.02.2022

All Russia

The Ministry of Justice has replenished the register of media – “foreign agents”

St. Petersburg

The court ordered the Ministry of Justice to exclude the Humanitarian Action Foundation from the register of foreign agents

15.02.2022

Chelyabinsk region

The court in Chelyabinsk declared illegal the refusal to exclude the Golos-Ural fund from the register of NGOs – “foreign agents”

11.02.2022

Moscow

The Ministry of Justice included in the registers of “foreign agents” the founder of Sota.Vision and the LGBTQ community center

11.02.2022

Moscow

The Moscow City Court approved fines for the participants of the action in support of journalists “foreign agents”

St. Petersburg

The court in St. Petersburg suspended the status of “foreign agent” of journalist Andrei Zakharov

 

All Russia

An administrative case was initiated against the Bellingket Foundation due to the lack of “foreign agent” marking

 

Krasnodar Krai

The court in Krasnodar canceled the fine to the ecologist due to the lack of marking “foreign agent”

03.02.2022

Altai

The Altai organization “Tuba Kalyk” was included in the register of NGOs – “foreign agents”

01.02.2022

Tver region

A protocol was drawn up for the coordinator of the Tver “Voice” for the post without marking “foreign agent”

28.01.2022

Mari El

In Mari El, the editor-in-chief of the news site was canceled and again fined because of the marking of “foreign agent”

26.01.2022

Moscow

The court in Moscow recognized as legal the inclusion of the editor-in-chief and publisher of “Mediazona” in the register of “foreign agents”

19.01.2022

Moscow

Three employees of “Voice” were refused to be excluded from the register of “foreign agents”

18.01.2022

Moscow

Coordinators of “Voice” in the Moscow region and Tambov were denied exclusion from the register of “foreign agents”

Samara region

The coordinator of “Voice” in Samara canceled the suspension of the status of “foreign agent”

17.01.2022

Mordovia

Coordinators of “Voice” in Tatarstan, Tver and Mordovia were refused to be excluded from the register of “foreign agents”

16.01.2022

Moscow

Unknown persons wrote “foreign agent” on the door of the apartment of gallery owner Marat Guelman.

14.01.2022

All Russia

The Ministry of Justice recognized two organizations created by “foreign agents” journalists as “foreign agents”

13.01.2022

Moscow

“Caucasian Knot” was fined 500 thousand rubles due to the lack of marking of “foreign agent”

12.01.2022

Tver region

The coordinator of the “Voice” in Tver was recognized as a “foreign agent” because of the transfer from a Nigerian citizen

10.01.2022

Penza region

In Penza, the editor-in-chief was fined for non-marking in the media of the fund included in the register of “foreign agents”

09.01.2022

Krasnodar Krai

Krasnodar environmental organization was excluded from the register of “foreign agents”

06.01.2022

Pskov region

Unknown persons once again hacked into the telegram channel of the “Pskov province”

 

Photo credits: Vox