The Russian Ministry of Justice has added Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) to its list of undesirable organizations. Radio Liberty is number 142 on the updated list of foreign NGOs it has classified as undesirable on the ministry’s website.
The measure bans RFE/RL, which has been funded by the United States since the Cold War and broadcasts in several languages in Russia, as part of a crackdown on voices criticizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Dozens of organizations have been placed on the list of undesirable organizations in Russia, with their employees facing legal action.
However, the move also comes long after the EU banned RT from operating within the territory, showcasing how censorship is working from both sides.
Russia’s banning of RFE/RL shows that Moscow does not want its people to be informed, a spokesman for the US State Department said in Washington on Tuesday.
“It is quite clear that they do not want their people to have information about what the Russian regime does abroad, what the Russian regime does to its own people,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
RFE/RL was established by the United States in 1949 and is currently headquartered in Prague. It broadcasts in 27 languages to 23 countries, mostly in Central Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.
