Journalists who worked with Idel were also included in the register of foreign media agents. Realities”, which was recognized as a foreign agent back in 2017. The number of foreign media agents included in the list exceeded one hundred
The Ministry of Justice has included in the register of NGOs-foreign agents a non-profit organization for the protection of the rights of conscripts undergoing alternative service and military personnel “Human Rights Group”Citizen. Army. The right». This is stated on the agency’s website.
In addition, four journalists who collaborated with the publication “Idel” were included in the register of foreign media agents. Realities” (included in the register of foreign agents in 2017). We are talking about Regina Hisamova, Regina Himalova, as well as Alina and Andrei Grigoriev.
Director of the human rights group “Citizen. Army. Sergey Krivenko called the inclusion in the list an expected decision of the Ministry of Justice in a conversation with RBC. At the end of October, according to him, the ministry warned about the start of an unscheduled inspection of the organization after a citizen’s complaint.
“Apparently, this citizen wrote a denunciation against us, but it is not known on what topic, because it did not happen. We were ordered to provide a large package of documents for the last three years: statements of accounts, documents on administrative and economic activities. We provided this by November 15th. December 3 was indicated as the day of the end of the inspection,” Krivenko said, noting that so far the human rights group has not received any notifications about the results of the inspection.
Krivenko also pointed out that inclusion in the list of NGOs-foreign agents will complicate their work, since conscripts, military personnel and those undergoing alternative service seek advice from the organization and to protect their rights it is required to contact the military prosecutor’s office and the command of the Ministry of Defense. These agencies, he continued, in recent years have reduced contacts with human rights defenders and organizations-foreign agents. “Apparently, our contacts with these agencies will be completely terminated, and we will continue to advise young people who will contact us with their problems,” he concluded.
RBC turned to Regina Hisamova, Andrey Grigoriev and Alina Grigorieva for comment.
In total, 103 individuals and legal entities are listed in the list of foreign agents by this day. Last time the list was expanded on November 26. Then Oleg Elanchik, the editor-in-chief of Sota, was added to the register of foreign agents.Vision and human rights activist, as well as the organization “Nobel Appeal”. It was created by journalists whom the Ministry had previously included in the list of foreign media.
President Vladimir Putin signed the law on Foreign Media agents at the end of 2019. Later, amendments were adopted that made it possible to recognize individuals as foreign agents. The law provides for mandatory labeling for all publications and people who, according to the authorities, receive funding from abroad, and a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles is threatened for its absence. Foreign media are obliged to create legal entities in Russia.
In addition, foreign media agents are also required to regularly report to the Ministry of Justice how the funds received from abroad were spent. In total, more than 80 individuals and legal entities have been added to the list of foreign agents this year.
Journalists have repeatedly called for the repeal of the law, the corresponding petition on the website Change.org scored more than 250 thousand votes. President Vladimir Putin assured at the beginning of October that there would be no “mass recording” of the media in foreign agents in the country. “The danger of this is greatly exaggerated,” he thought. By that time, more than 80 organizations and people were listed in the register.
At the end of October, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, editor-in-chief of “Novaya Gazeta” Dmitry Muratov called on Putin to finalize the law on foreign agents and remove “blurred criteria” for inclusion in the list. In response, he promised to consider this issue again, adding that he regularly gives instructions to both his administration andState Duma deputies, so that they finalize the law. In early December, Putin, in a conversation with the head of the CEC, Ella Pamfilova, said that the law on foreign media should not violate the rights of Russians. «To meet the purposes for which it was adopted»,— he pointed out.
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