The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom, today welcomed the lifting of a ban on the Russian independent news portal Fergana.
Daniil Kislov, Fergana鈥檚 general director, confirmed in a message to IPI that the ban was lifted on October 8. The site was made accessible after part of an online story was edited, Kislov said.
On September 30, Russia鈥檚 state internet regulator, Roskomnadzor, had ordered Internet service providers across the country to block access to Fergana, a Moscow-based independent news site focused on Central Asia. The outlet was given no prior warning and its website was added to a registry of blocked pages the next day.
IPI had previously聽 against the ban. The blocking websites of independent publications has become an increasingly common tactic in Vladimir Putin鈥檚 Russia.
Separately, IPI called on Russia to drop terrorism-related charges against two independent journalists.
On September 20, the authorities freelance journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva on charges of 鈥渏ustification of terrorism鈥�, which carry a potential sentence of up to seven years in prison. Prokopyeva works for Radio Liberty and Echo of Moscow and is based in Pskov, a city in western Russia. The charges stem from comments she made on a radio station in November 2018 about a recent suicide bombing of a Federal Security Service (FSB) office by a 17-year-old boy.
Similar charges have also been brought against , the religious affairs editor of Chernovik, the oldest weekly local newspaper in Dagestan. He has been held in pretrial custody since June 2019 after being charged with 鈥渇inancing terrorism鈥�, in particular ISIS. The allegations, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, are based on a single article he wrote about an Islamic charity foundation in 2013.
On October 2, masked and heavily armed policemen Gadzhiev鈥檚 newspaper offices in the regional capital, Makhachkala, as part of the investigation. Searches were carried out without a lawyer or the paper鈥檚 management being present.
The Russian Union of Journalists criticized the 鈥渓awlessness of the security forces鈥�, the raid as 鈥渁nother attempt to put pressure on a truth-telling publication鈥�.
鈥淭hese incidents illustrate the continued willingness of Russian authorities to wield repressive laws to target independent media鈥�, IPI Director of Advocacy Ravi R. Prasad said. 鈥淐ounter-terrorism legislation and the arbitrary blocking of news websites are being increasingly abused to silence critical voices. We welcome the decision to lift the block on Fergana, but call on Russia to drop all charges against journalists Svetlana Prokopyeva and Abdulmumin Gadzhiev.鈥�