- The NGO Reporters Without Borders is considered to be “undesirable” in Russia, which means its ban.
- This Monday, France “expresses its dismay” and denounces an “absolute contempt for press freedom”.
She is no longer welcome in Russia. On August 14, the Russian Ministry of Justice declared the Press NGO Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) “undesirable”
in the country. This de facto means the ban on RSF, whose siege is in France, and which regularly denounces attacks on freedom of expression and comes to the aid of persecuted journalists in Russia.
A “repression campaign”
A decision that Paris lambs. “France expresses its dismay before the announcement of the registration of the NGO Reporters Without Borders on the list of ‘unwanted organizations’ in Russia”
reacted this Monday, August 18, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release (new window). “This decision is part of the repression campaign led by the Russian authorities against any critical voice of power, in absolute contempt for freedom of expression and freedom of the press.”
The Quai d’Orsay also calls “At the immediate and unconditional release of all those prosecuted for political reasons”
as well as “Respect by Russia of its international commitments in terms of right to information and access to information”
.
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“It is not the confidence that reigns”: between France and Russia, tense relations
Moscow drew up a list of organizations for the first time in 2015 “undesirable”
. It now has more than 250 organizations, such as NGOs Amnesty International and Greenpeace, as well as several media.
