The Kremlin will review the proposed amendments to Russia’s law on “foreign agents” put forward by the publishers and editors-in-chief of independent media outlets, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti on Friday, September 3.
“There is an appeal, it’s much more constructive. This isn’t a demand that was previously voiced, but a constructive proposal, therefore, of course, we will consider them [the amendments] in terms of their feasibility.”
On August 27, a number of independent media outlets made a public appeal to the Russian leadership for an end to the campaign against independent journalism and the repeal of Russia’s laws on “foreign agents” and “undesirable organizations.” In response, Dmitry Peskov said that this appeal “deserves attention,” but Russia’s “foreign agents” law “should be and it will be.”
On September 1, the publishers and top editors of 22 independent media outlets published another appeal outlining 12 proposed amendments to the law on “foreign agents.” Among other things, they suggested changing the law so that “foreign agent” status can only be handed down by court order, removing provisions from the legislation that allow for its arbitrary application, simplifying the accounting procedure for “foreign agents,” and establishing a process for lifting this status altogether. The signatories also called for rescinding the current list of “foreign agents.”
Read more about the crackdown on ‘foreign agents’
- Demands from the free press Meduza joins Dozhd, Novaya Gazeta, Forbes Russia, and other news outlets in a public appeal for an end to the Kremlin’s campaign against independent journalism
- Editors-in-chief of independent media outlets propose amendments to Russia’s ‘foreign agents’ law
- ‘Our readership is smarter than the Kremlin thinks’ Meduza talks to the chief editors of blacklisted Russian media outlets about their plans for the future
- The Enemies List How the authorities divide the labor of crushing Russia’s free press
- Selective application Why is Dozhd labeled a ‘foreign agent,’ but not RT? Putin’s spokesman weighs in.