The district court in Moscow did not accept the request of Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov to be removed from the register of “foreign agents”, the independent “Novaya Gazeta” reported. Muratov was included on the Ministry of Justice’s shameful list in September.
During Monday’s court session, a representative of the Ministry of Justice Russia stated that Muratov gave interviews to foreign media from “unfriendly” countries, which means that he “could not speak positively about Russia,” Novaya Gazeta reported on social media.
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Dmitry Muratov at a court session MAXIM SHIPENKOV/PAP/EPA
On the infamous list
Dmitry Muratov, former editor-in-chief of the independent “Novoi Gazeta”, who in 2021 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prizewas included on the list of “foreign agents” in September this year. Ministry of Justice Russia accused him of “creating and disseminating content used to spread negative opinions about Russia.”
The independent website Meduza reminded that, according to Russian law, “negative” statements about Russia, regardless of where they were made, cannot be the basis for recognizing (a person or entity) a “foreign agent”.
The controversial Foreign Agents Law, which came into force in Russia in 2012, forces non-governmental organizations and media that receive donations from abroad and engage in “political activities” to be listed as a “foreign agent” in the official register. Such an entry has negative connotations in Russian society.
Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Peace Prize winner, editor-in-chief of “Novaya Gazeta”Reuters Archive
He must defend his rights
Muratov justified that he never received financing from abroad. He also stated that he asked the court to remove him from the list of “foreign agents” because he needed to defend his rights.
– If you do not go to court when the state confiscates your rights, you consent to this forced confiscation. They are stealing your job, dignity, freedom – he justified.
On September 4, Muratov resigned from the position of editor-in-chief of “Nova Gazeta” until the end of the trial regarding the status of a “foreign agent”. His deputy, Sergei Sokolov, became the acting editor-in-chief. Novaya Gazeta ceased to be published in paper form after the Russian invasion began Ukraine. Her publications are available on social media.
Novaya Gazeta, Meduza, tvn24.pl
Main photo source: MAXIM SHIPENKOV/PAP/EPA