Russia will label independent journalists and bloggers as foreign agents

Putin has signed a law that would require anyone receiving foreign funding to be defined as a foreign agent, with the expansion of a 2012 law that has restricted the freedom of the press in the country anyway. The law requires those alleged agents to report their activities and finances regularly

Russia will label independent journalists and bloggers as foreign agents

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law allowing people to be labeled as "foreign agents". Human rights groups have said the move will further reduce press freedom in the country.

A law passed in 2012 Kabel granted powers to label NGOs and human rights organizations as foreign agents, a term that bears negative connotations of the Soviet era. However, expanding the definition of the law threatens to impair the ability of independent journalists and bloggers to operate in Russia.

Human rights groups, including the Human Rights Watch, have called for the move to be approved after Parliament's approval of Putin's final signature.

Under the law, anything published by anyone receiving foreign funding will be labeled as materials distributed by a foreign agent. The law also states that anyone who distributes foreign news can be defined as a foreign agent. Anyone who is defined as a foreign agent may be subject to surprise checks and bureaucratic difficulties. In addition, the law requires those alleged foreign agents to regularly report on their finances, goals, financial investments and who manages them.

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As in the Soviet Union. Putin (Photo: Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin at Brazil Conference, November 2019 (Photo: Reuters)