Russian court upholds closure of leading independent newspaper

MOSCOW (AP) – A court in Moscow on Tuesday upheld an earlier ruling revoking the license of a top independent newspaper that has criticized the Kremlin for years, part of the authorities’ crackdown on dissent.

The Moscow City Court’s ruling against Novaya Gazeta, which was Russia’s most prestigious independent newspaper until authorities ordered its closure last year, comes as Russia’s grueling military campaign in Ukraine nears its one-year mark.

The court dismissed Novaya Gazeta’s appeal against a September decision by a Moscow district court approving a request by the Russian Media Regulatory Authority to revoke Novaya Gazeta’s license. The regulatory authority accused the newspaper of not having submitted its articles of incorporation to the authorities in good time. The allegation, which Novaya Gazeta dismissed as a cover for what she described as an attempt by the authorities to muzzle an independent voice.

Dmitry Muratov, the newspaper’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning editor-in-chief, condemned Tuesday’s ruling, saying it “serves a group of people who only want to see the nation confronted with propaganda.”

Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched troops to Ukraine on February 24, the Kremlin-controlled parliament passed a law banning the alleged denigration of the Russian military or the dissemination of “false information” about the country’s military campaign in Ukraine .

Dozens of independent Russian media outlets were subsequently banned, while others announced they would stop all coverage of Ukraine.

Novaya Gazeta announced on March 28 that it was suspending its operations for the duration of what the Kremlin called a “military special operation” in Ukraine. But the Novaya Gazeta staff who have relocated abroad have launched a new project, Novaya Gazeta Europe, which slams the military campaign in Russia’s former Soviet neighbor.

The Associated Press

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