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The British broadcaster BBC is withdrawing all of its journalists from Russia for security reasons.
A law passed by the Russian parliament on Friday is apparently intended to "criminalize independent journalism," BBC boss Tim Davie said in London.
"This leaves us with no choice but to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC journalists and their teams within the Russian Federation."
The BBC wants to continue to provide information in Russian - but from outside the country, explained Davie.
Against the background of the Ukraine invasion, the Russian Duma had previously passed a law that provides for draconian prison sentences for unfavorable reporting on the Russian army.
Up to 15 years in prison are threatened for spreading “fake news” about the army.
Foreigners are also affected by the law.
The Russian authorities also restricted access to foreign and independent media websites.
Those affected included Deutsche Welle and the Russian-language website of the BBC.
The non-governmental organization GlobalCheck and AFP journalists had found access problems on media websites and Facebook on Friday night.
According to GlobalCheck, the Deutsche Welle website (dw.de) showed zero percent availability in the morning hours.
mkl/AP/Reuters
