The US government-controlled news organisation RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) has become yet another Western media outlet to suspend operations in Russia amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Â
In a statement on Saturday, Jamie Fly, RFE/RL President, said,
“It is with the deepest regret that I announce the suspension of our physical operations in Moscow today. This is not a decision that RFE/RL has taken of its own accord, but one that has been forced upon us by the Putin regime’s assault on the truth.”   Â
On Friday, RFE/RL legitimised their decision by citing the intensified pressure on their journalists from law enforcement and bankruptcy proceedings against their Russian entity.
The western outlet gave another reason, which was a new law that makes the deliberate broadcast of false information about the Russian military punishable with an extortionate fine and a fifteen-year jail sentence. Â
On the basis of their coverage of the Russian onslaught on Ukraine, nine of their Russian-language websites were blocked.
RFE/RL said,
“Because RFE/RL journalists continue to tell the truth about Russia’s catastrophic invasion of its neighbor, the company plans to report on these developments from outside of Russia.”Â
This week, the following news channels: CNN, BBC, ABC News, CBS News, and Bloomberg also put their functioning in Russian branches on hold due to their “fake news law,” which was branded as an attempt to criminalise and stamp out independent journalism.
Edited by: Kiran Maharana
Published by: Vishakha Verma
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