The IPI global network strongly condemns the decision by a Moscow court today to revoke the licence of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta. The decision effectively bans Novaya Gazeta — whose editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov, received last year’s Nobel Peace Prize — from operating in Russia. IPI calls on the Russian authorities to reverse the decision immediately.
The decision comes after Russia’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, accused the newspaper of failing to provide documents related to a change of ownership in 2006. According to media reports, the court will decide whether to also revoke the licence for Novaya Gazeta’s website next week.
Muratov, speaking outside the court, called the ruling “a political hit job, without the slightest legal basis” and said the paper would appeal.
Banning Novaya Gazeta comes only days after the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, who famously used part of his Nobel Peace Prize money to help set up the newspaper in 1993. Muratov led the funeral procession of Gorbachev in Russia on Saturday.
The newspaper had to suspend its operations in Russia in March after receiving a second ultimatum from the media regulator over coverage of the war in Ukraine. The publication has since set up a new online outlet in Europe, which has also been blocked in Russia.
“The decision to effectively ban Novaya Gazeta in Russia is the latest in a series of administrative and regulatory measures aimed at suffocating all independent media outlets in the country”, said IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi.
“We are outraged by this order, and we call on authorities to reverse the decision immediately and to stop the legal harassment of independent journalists and media. The decision is a serious violation of press freedom and reflects the desire of the Russian government to silence all critical voices in the country.”
Since the beginning of its war in Ukraine, Russia has launched a domestic crackdown on independent media. In early March, new laws against disinformation and discrediting the armed forces took effect in Russia, effectively making reporting of the war impossible, forcing many foreign outlets to leave Russia.
Novaya Gazeta’s journalists have faced threats and violence for their work on numerous occasions, including for the paper’s coverage of Chechnya and corruption inside and outside Russia. In April of this year, Muratov was attacked with red paint as he was travelling on a train from Moscow to Samara.
Muratov will take part in IPI’s World Congress this week in New York City, opening the Congress on Sept. 8 with a conversation on media freedom in Russia.
