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Updated March 28th, 2022 at 19:46 IST

Russia adds Germany's DW to 'foreign agent' list; broadcaster decries 'censorship'

Once Russia declares an entity, person, nongovernment business or organisation “foreign agent” they are required to label all material that they publish or air.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Russia
Image: AP/Shutterstock | Image:self
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Just roughly a month after it stopped operations of German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), Moscow’s justice ministry on Monday included it in a "foreign agents” list, that now requires the broadcaster to run a disclaimer on its aired material. Russia's 2012 Foreign Agent Law is applicable to non-governmental organisations that are funded by countries abroad, and need to officially notify it on a tag for publishing "printed, audio, audiovisual or other reports and materials” in Moscow.

Once Russia declares an entity, person, nongovernment business or organisation a “foreign agent” they are required to label all material that they publish, including social media posts, as well as file regular financial statements and reports that list their activity compilation over the period of six months. 

Moscow's Foreign Agent Law synonymous with 'espionage': DW

As per the German broadcaster DW, the tag of a foreign agent is Soviet-era connotations in Russia that is synonymous with espionage and has widely been used against political dissidents by the Kremlin. It also deters the state advertisers from buying space on the programmes. Russia’s regime maintains a grip on journalists and human rights defenders by declaring them “foreign agents” which the German broadcaster believes comes with dire consequences as it is a form of a state “censorship” and covertly decries “foreign meddling.” 

Russia’s state communications regulator Roskomnadzor had blocked the German broadcaster in early March from operating free speech in a retaliatory move after Berlin similarly banned the Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT's German-language channel over a license dispute.

Deutsche Welle had also claimed that its journalists' accreditations were being revoked by Russia and the offices were being shut down. The Kremlin then began a court proceeding to register Deutsche Welle as "a foreign media outlet.” This dispute was also raised during a key meeting between German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow in February. Russia had announced that it will make a private list "of representatives of state and public structures of Germany" involved in putting pressure on the Russian media operators who will be kicked out of their territory, 

Head of the EPP’s German delegation in the European Parliament, Daniel Caspary, had then lambasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for "showing his true colours more and more and more.”

"Putin can't let it go: for good reason, RT Deutschland is having its license revoked in Germany and he is shutting down a free independent broadcaster,” he had told EU reporters gathered at the time to take his statement. Moscow also expelled journalists from de Volkskrant and the BBC.

The Kremlin released a statement, suggesting that halting all broadcasts by foreign outlets was the “first stage" of measures. DW hit back, stating that it was made a pawn "in a way that media only have to experience in autocracies.”

"We formally protest against this absurd reaction of the Russian government and will take legal action," Deutsche Welle Director Peter Limbourg had said in a statement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, slammed Germany for its decision to ban RT, which he described as ”nothing but an infringement on freedom of speech.” 

The Kremlin said in a statement that it is forming a list of representatives of state and public structures of Germany involved in restricting the broadcasting of RT DE who will be banned from entering the territory of the Russian Federation. That list will not be published in the public domain. 

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Published March 28th, 2022 at 19:46 IST

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