Russia has passed a new censorship law in a bid to suppress news of its assault on Ukraine.
The Duma, Russia’s parliament, has passed a bill enabling anyone accused of publishing “false information” regarding Russia’s military to be prosecuted and potentially imprisoned.
According to Russian news agency TASS, those found guilty of disseminating “false information” about the Russian army face up to three years in prison or a fine of 1.5 million rubles ($13,000). However, those found guilty of using “an official position” – for which they are remunerated – to spread “false information” face between 5 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up up to 5 million rubles ($44,000). “If the fake information caused serious consequences, the term of imprisonment will be from 10 to 15 years,” TASS reports.
TASS also reported that those who publicly call on Russia to stop the use of its armed forces or publicly call for foreign sanctions on Russia massive fines and potentially imprisonment. The latter, in particular, would result in potentially a fine worth three years’ wages, imprisonment for up to six months or “forced labor for a term of up to three years.”
Russian outlets have been ordered to refer to the assault of Ukraine as a “special military operation” and are only allowed to use officially sanctioned sources when reporting on the conflict.
According to Radio France Internationale, Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor published a statement on its website saying: “When preparing their materials and publications relating to the conduct of a special operation in connection with the situation in the Lugansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic, [the media] are obliged to use information and data received by them only from official Russian sources.” Otherwise, the department threatened to immediately block sites that disseminate “false information.”
Russia has also been cracking down on media access, reportedly blocking access to social media, restricting access to the BBC and cracking down on independent media, with a number of outlets disbanding or shutting down altogether.