Moscow declares the Barents Observer an ‘undesirable organisation’
The newspaper publishes “anti-Russian materials” that are aimed at “igniting protest among the people of Northern Russia,” the Russian General Prosecutor says.
The General Prosecutor’s office on Friday morning announced that the journalist-owned media based in northern Norway is added to Russia’s list of so-called ‘undesirable organisations.’
“A significant part of the newspaper’s materials have a clearly expressed anti-Russian character,” the Russian state authority writes.
“The articles are aimed at stimulating protest motions among the population in north Russian regions, tighten anti-Russian sanctions [and] boosting NATO’s military presence by our borders,” the notice reads.
Furthermore, the Barents Observer is “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.”
In addition, the newspaper’s journalists are propagating “untraditional values,” the General Prosecutor argues. The repressive Russian authority also underlines that the editorial staff of the Barents Observer includes Russian journalists in exile, among them people who are on Russia’s so-called ‘foreign agent’ list and the list of “extremists and terrorists.”
The announcement by the General Prosecutor is made only one day after the small Norwegian newspaper won a court case in the European Court of Human Rights against Russia’s censorship agency Roskomnadzor.
Editor Thomas Nilsen underlines that the Barents Observer will continue to publish independent and investigative news about the situation in the region.
“The Barents Observer will continue to report, in Russian and English languages, about important developments in the Russian north,” he says.
“This shows that the Kremlin’s repressive authorities know that we are doing a good job. Journalism is no crime, the crime is to stop free media and freedom of expression.”
The timing of the General Prosecutor’s announcement is well prepared, Nilsen argues.
“There is no such thing as coincidence in time in regards to actions taken by Kremlin’s repressive authorities. Yesterday afternoon, the Barents Observer won against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights. This morning the Procurator General designates us undesirable.”
Located in Kirkenes, Norway, just a few kilometres from the borders to Russia and Finland, the Barents Observer is dedicated to cross-border journalism in Scandinavia, Russia and the wider Arctic.
As a non-profit stock company that is fully owned by its reporters, its editorial decisions are free of regional, national or private-sector influence. It has been a partner to ABJ and its predecessors since 2016.
