Journalist associations demand that Russia reverse its ban on 81 European media outlets

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have strongly condemned the decision of Russia to block access to 81 European media and have demanded that the Kremlin reverse its measure.

In a joint statement, both organizations have described this “retaliation” to the sanctions adopted by the European Union for the aggression against Ukraine as “a serious and unjust attack” on press freedom.

“We urge the Russian authorities to protect the right of citizens to access information from around the world, as press freedom must not be a collateral victim of this conflict,” they stressed.

The European Declaration

EU countries also adopted a statement on Wednesday condemning the Kremlin’s decision, but the Hungarian government, led by ultra-nationalist Viktor Orbán, has distanced itself from it.

Affected media

The Spanish media outlets whose distribution has been banned by Moscow are El País, El Mundo, Agencia EFE and Televisión Española.

Among the 81 media affected are also newspapers such as the German newspaper “Die Zeit” and the magazine “Der Spiegel”, the Italian “La Stampa” and “La Repubblica”, the Portuguese “Publico”, the French “Le Monde” and ” Libération”, or the Dutch magazine “Algemeen Dagblad”.

The Russian measure also includes TV channels such as the Italian RAI, the French LC1 and Arte, the Irish RTE, the Portuguese RTP Internacional, the Dutch Nos and the Austrian ORF, as well as the broadcaster Radio France and the Agence France-Presse and Agence Europe agencies.

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Russia’s justification

Moscow justified the measure as a response to the restrictions adopted on May 17 by the Council of the European Union against three Russian media outlets – the RIA Novosti Agency and the Izvestia and Rossiskaya Gazeta newspapers.

Concern for press freedom

Journalist organizations have expressed their deep concern about the intensification of repression against press freedom in Russia, which has been increasing since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.

“This new measure is one more step in the authoritarian drift of the Russian government and an attempt to silence critical voices,” they denounced.

Call to action

The IFJ and EFJ have called on the international community to condemn Russia’s decision and take steps to support independent journalists in Russia and Ukraine.