Russia: foreign media under threat of criminal sanctions

Friday, March 4, the Duma meeting in

adopted a new law, called

which was immediately signed by Vladimir Putin, thus coming into force the same day.

This

criminalizes the dissemination of

relating to

as well as

the Russian military and

such as international sanctions.

To discover

• LIVE - War in Ukraine: "heavy fighting" in the south and north, Mariupol in a critical situation

Read also

This law targets independent Russian or foreign media present in Russia.

The former virtually disappeared with the scuttling of the Moscow Echo radio and the Dojd site at the end of last week.

The latter now see their correspondents in Russia exposed to heavy fines and prison sentences that can range from three to five years, or even fifteen years if the information referred to has

Faced with this new situation, which they had not known even during the time of the USSR, all the major Western media present in Russia undertook to reassess their work in this country, in the light of the implications for the security of their journalists and collaborators.

Random law enforcement

Lawyers consulted in Russia by various foreign media emphasize the

of several provisions of the law, which authorizes its random application, according to the goodwill of the authorities.

For example, it is supposed not to have retroactive effect,

(of Russia)

notes a lawyer.

One of his colleagues stresses that the text only applies to

committed in Russia: the reports made in Ukraine could not therefore be blamed on a journalist from the same media present in Moscow.

But the FSB (internal security) seems to have intervened with a German channel after a program had

There are enough laws in Russia to convict a journalist for any reason, and enough tools to eliminate a media

Galina Timtchenko, director of the Meduza site, based in Latvia

There is also an ambiguity on the

of information that displeases the Kremlin: does the simple fact of having an accessible website in Russia fall under the scope of the new legislation?

Galina Timtchenko, director of the Meduza site, based in Latvia, told AFP.

Freedom to work hampered

Faced with these hazards, many foreign media have decided to

the work of their journalists in Russia, or even, in some cases, to repatriate them.

This is particularly the case for dual nationals, an earlier decree by President Putin exposing Russian citizens to the charge of

In any case, those who continue to cover Russian news for the time being, such as the correspondent of

in Moscow, Alain Barluet, see their freedom to work hampered: going to an anti-war demonstration like the one that held Sunday in the Russian capital can theoretically place them under the blow of the law.

The lawyers consulted

using the terms of

or

Read also

Some media have decided to no longer sign their articles or dispatches.

The television channels broadcast in Russia - BBC, CNN, CBC / Radio Canada, ARD or ZDF for Germany - have suspended the activity of their journalists until further notice.

The French international channels, France 24 and TV5 Monde, have disappeared from Russian screens by decision of their local cable operators.

All of the French media, whose leaders consulted each other throughout the weekend, agreed to adopt an attitude of caution while continuing - or resuming from this Monday - their coverage of Russia.

This is the position of

, which will inform its readers of the obstacles or constraints preventing it from qualifying or freely describing the events in this country.