MOSCOW: Several Russian media outlets on Friday published an open letter to President Vladimir Putin and other top officials demanding an end to the “state campaign” against independent journalism.
The outcry comes after Russia slapped several media outlets and individual journalists with the “foreign agent” label that requires them to carry out tedious administrative procedures and clearly indicate their status on everything they publish.
Independent journalism in Russia is facing mounting pressure, especially in the run-up to parliamentary polls in September.
The letter was signed by the Meduza news website, Dozhd TV channel — both of which have been declared foreign agents this year — Forbes Russia and around half a dozen local media outlets.
“We, journalists and editors of Russian and Russian-language media, demand an immediate end to the state campaign against the independent press,” the open letter said.
It added that these labels “directly violate” the constitution, media laws and freedom of speech.
The status either leads to the media’s closure or creates “discriminatory conditions” that restrict the work of journalists, the letter said.
But the Kremlin on Friday swiftly rejected the letter’s demands, saying authorities were simply applying the law.
“The law should exist and will exist,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
That was because “NGOS and journalists are often used” by foreign states interfering in “the affairs of our country,” he said.
He did say, however, that how the law is being enforced “should be discussed.”
Organizations or individuals declared “foreign agents” must disclose sources of funding and label all their publications, including social media posts, with the tag or face fines.
The status is a deterrent for advertisers, a key source of revenue for many independent media.
In July, the investigative outlet Proekt, which reported on the wealth of Russia’s elites, was declared an “undesirable organization,” de-facto banning its work in the country under the threat of fines or jail time.
Russia has also blocked the websites of two media outlets and one human rights group linked to self-exiled Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Legislation behind the term “foreign agent,” which has Soviet-era undertones, was originally passed in 2012 to cover NGOs.
It was expanded to include media organizations in 2017 after Kremlin-funded RT.
Russian journalists demand end to crackdown on media
https://arab.news/2jp4u
Russian journalists demand end to crackdown on media
- Russian media outlets publish an open letter to President Vladimir Putin demanding an end to the “state campaign” against independent journalism
- This comes after Russia slapped several media outlets and individual journalists with the “foreign agent” label
Israeli court overturns conviction of officer who assaulted Palestinian journalist, citing ‘Oct. 7 PTSD’
- Judge sentenced Yitzhak Sofer to 300 hours of community service, saying officer “devoted his life to Israel’s security” and conviction was “disproportionate to severity of his actions”
- Footage shows Sofer throwing photojournalist Mustafa Alkharouf to the ground, and repeatedly beating and kicking him while he covered Palestinian gatherings near Al-Aqsa Mosque
LONDON: An Israeli court overturned the conviction of a border police officer who assaulted a Palestinian journalist, ruling his actions were influenced by post-traumatic stress disorder from serving during the Oct. 7 2023 attacks.
On Tuesday, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court sentenced officer Yitzhak Sofer to 300 hours of community service for assaulting Anadolu Agency photojournalist Mustafa Alkharouf in occupied East Jerusalem in December 2023.
Footage shows Sofer and other officers drawing weapons, throwing Alkharouf to the ground, and repeatedly beating and kicking him while he covered Palestinian gatherings near Al-Aqsa Mosque amid heavy restrictions.
Alkharouf was hospitalized with facial and body injuries. His cameraman, Faiz Abu Ramila, was also attacked.
Anadolu photojournalist Mustafa Alkharouf violently attacked by Israeli army in occupied East Jerusalem while covering Palestinian prayers near Al-Aqsa Mosque
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 15, 2023
Incident highlights ongoing restrictions on Friday prayers and press freedom in region https://t.co/exT6XqjEaA pic.twitter.com/pqugK9HnOt
Sofer had been convicted in September 2024 of assault causing bodily harm (acquitted of threats) and initially faced six months’ community service, as recommended by Mahash, the Justice Ministry’s police misconduct unit.
Judge Amir Shaked accepted the defense request to cancel the conviction, replacing it with community service.
He cited Sofer’s PTSD from responding to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack, noting the officer had “no prior criminal record” and had “devoted his life to Israel’s security.”
“The court cannot ignore this when considering whether the defendant’s conviction should stand,” he said, adding that while the incident is “serious and does cross the criminal threshold,” the conviction in place could cause Sofer harm “disproportionate to the severity of his actions.”
The ruling comes amid surging attacks on journalists in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza since Israel’s war on Gaza began.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported Israel responsible for two-thirds of the 129 media workers killed worldwide in 2025, the deadliest year on record, citing a “persistent culture of impunity” and lack of transparent probes.
Reporters Without Borders called the Israeli army the “worst enemy of journalists” in its 2025 report, with nearly half of global reporter deaths in Gaza.
Foreign journalists face raids, arrests and intimidation. In late January 2026, Israel’s Supreme Court granted a delay on ruling a ban on foreign media access to Gaza.
