The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation recognized the newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe as an "undesirable" organization.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the publication, founded by journalists of Novaya Gazeta, which was previously blocked in Russia, "carries out activities to create and distribute tendentious information materials to the detriment of the interests of the Russian Federation."
The department also accuses the media of spreading “false information” about massive violations of the rights and freedoms of citizens in Russia, as well as “fake news” about the war in Ukraine, which the authorities demand to be called a “special operation”.
One of the journalists of the publication, Ilya Azar, commented to Sota on the recognition of the publication as “undesirable”:
“I don’t give a damn about the decisions of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Constitutional Court and other so-called official bodies of the Russian Federation. All the same, all their employees are on the road to prison or to lustration. Proud to collaborate with Novaya Gazeta. Europe” and will continue to do so. No war, freedom for political prisoners and speedy trial of war criminals!”
Now the dissemination of Novaya Gazeta Evropa materials or financial assistance to a publication in Russia can be interpreted as participation in the activities of an “undesirable organization”. In the case of the first violation, administrative liability is provided for, in the case of a repeated violation – criminal liability. The Prosecutor General's Office recognized the activities of a number of independent opposition media as "undesirable": in particular, The Insider, Meduza, Important Stories, and Project.
On May 19, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office declared the activities of the activist environmental organization Greenpeace "undesirable".