HRW Slams Russia For Silencing Media
New York, March 7: International organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday slammed Russia for its crackdown on media following invasion into Ukraine.
On March 4, Russia had enacted two laws criminalising independent war reporting and protesting against the war to stop the spread of “fake news” about Russian armed forces. The accused will face up to 15 years of prison. “These new laws are part of Russia’s ruthless effort to suppress all dissent and make sure the population does not have access to any information that contradicts the Kremlin’s narrative about the invasion of Ukraine,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW.
According to the HRW, the Russian authorities have routinely charged people with extremism or involvement with “undesirable organisations” based on social media posts that date from years prior to those groups were banned.
On March 5, the Russian police had raided the premises of Pskovskaya Guberniya, and a local branch of ‘Yabloko’ opposition party in Pskov, western Russia, accusing them of discrediting the armed forces. Williamson said, “The Kremlin is wiping out all options for dissent to ensure that brave anti-war protesters do not return to the streets.
“When President Putin goes after such a fundamental right – the cornerstone of democracy – with such totalitarian tactics, he is dispensing with any pretense that his government has any respect for rule of law, human rights, or democracy.” According to the state-run RIA Novosti, Russian has restricted access to publications including BBC Russia, Radio Liberty and Latvia-based Meduza. Last week, Russian television channel TV Rain (Dozhd) suspended its operations after it was ordered to shut down over its coverage on Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. The entire staff of the channel resigned on air as Natalia Sindeyeva, one of its founders, said “No to War”. At least 4,640 people were detained in Russia on Sunday for participating in anti-war rallies across the country, CNN quoted an independent human rights monitoring group tracking detentions.
