She is one of the last critical voices in Russia, and now the newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” is no longer allowed to publish either. Officially, it is about an unpublished editorial statute – but the paper has been suffering from state repression for years. Now their future is more uncertain than ever.
A district court in Moscow has withdrawn the license for the newspaper “Novaya Gazeta”, which is critical of the Kremlin. “The registration as a medium is declared invalid,” announced the responsible judge, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax. The withdrawal was made at the request of the Russian media supervisory authority Roskomnadzor. The authority justified this with the fact that the newspaper had not submitted its editorial statutes despite a warning.
The editor-in-chief of “Novaya Gazeta” is Dmitri Muratov, who received the Nobel Peace Prize last year. The newspaper had to cease publication six months ago shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Muratov justified this with concern for the well-being of correspondents after a “fake news law” came into force in Russia.
It provides for high prison sentences for journalists whose publications contradict official statements. Some employees left the country to continue working in exile. A printed magazine was launched on July 15 and can be found on the web through a new website called Novaya Rasskas-Gazeta. It was blocked by the Russian authorities after a week.
“Novaya Gazeta” had described the Russian attack on Ukraine as a war. Officially in Russia it is only called “military special operation”. Muratov announced that he would appeal the license revocation. “This is a pseudo-judgment on a political order,” said the 60-year-old. “It doesn’t have the slightest legal basis.”
The decision against “Novaya Gazeta” was “another blow to the freedom of the Russian media,” said spokeswoman for the UN human rights office in Geneva, Ravina Shamdasani. Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the media have been subject to even greater restrictions.
The timing of the withdrawal of the license could also be related to the death of Mikhail Gorbachev. The former Soviet head of state was also a co-owner of “Novaya Gazeta”, which has repeatedly uncovered grievances in Russia throughout its history. At his funeral last Saturday, Muratov led a procession with Gorbachev’s coffin.
