Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres) has released a report on 22 years of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “persecution of journalists”.
As Putin celebrated his 70th birthday, the head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, Jeanne Cavelier, said: “When he became president at the dawn of the 21st century, Russia still had a pluralistic media landscape and a progressive media law. Twenty-two years later, it has become one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, who are forced to hide or flee to practice their profession, or to censor themselves to avoid being arrested for refusing to cooperate with authorities.”
The RSF report notes 37 journalists killed, 43 war crimes against media outlets, at least 19 journalists in prison, 183 media labelled as foreign agents, more than 50 laws restricting media freedom, more than 300 journalists who’ve fled, and 1.2 million websites blocked.
