Russia's Prosecutor General's Office ruled on July 10 to declare the independent Russian media outlet the Moscow Times an "undesirable organization," which establishes criminal penalties for anyone who works with or has links to the outlet.
The law on "undesirable" organizations has existed since 2015 and has been used to target perceived opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime, including NGOs, independent media outlets, human rights groups, and others.
The prosecutor's office justified their decision by claiming that the work of the Moscow Times is "is aimed at discrediting the decisions of Russia's leadership in both foreign and domestic policy."
The Moscow Times said that beyond banning its work in Russia, the decision "puts staff members at risk of jail time, and criminalizes engagement with the outlet, including sharing its content online."
The Russian government passed a law in May expanding the list of "undesirable" organizations to include those funded by foreign states.
Following a subsequent court case brought by Russian organizations operating outside of the country, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the expanded law violates the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Moscow Times relocated its headquarters to Amsterdam in 2022 in the aftermath of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and related crackdown on media in Russia.
The Russian language service of the online paper was blocked by Russian authorities in April 2022.
Nate Ostiller
