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Muratov to quit as Novaya Gazeta chief until end of foreign agent status probe

The Russian Ministry of Justice added Dmitry Muratov, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, to the list of foreign agents on September 1, 2023

MOSCOW, September 4. /TASS/. Novaya Gazeta’s editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov will quit as the daily’s editor-in-chief during the court proceedings over his inclusion in the Ministry of Justice’s list of foreign agents, the Telegram channel Novaya Gazeta Europe has said.

"Muratov strongly disagrees with the decision made by the Ministry of Justice and is taking the case to court. At his own request, for the period of the litigation the editorial board suspends Dmitry Muratov as its editor-in-chief," the message reads. Sergey Sokolov has been appointed acting editor-in-chief.

The daily’s press-service has confirmed that Muratov will temporarily leave the post of its editor-in-chief.

The Russian Ministry of Justice added Muratov, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, to the list of foreign agents on September 1, 2023.

Earlier, Russia's Supreme Court upheld an administrative lawsuit filed by the telecommunications watchdog to terminate the operation of Novaya Gazeta's website as an electronic media outlet. In early September last year, the court revoked Novaya Gazeta's mass media license.

On March 28, 2022, Novaya Gazeta's Moscow editorial board suspended its publication after a second written warning from the communications watchdog. The reason for the warning was the daily’s website published content that mentioned without proper labeling an organization included in the register of non-profit organizations that perform the functions of a foreign agent. The communications watchdog had issued its first warning to Novaya Gazeta on March 22. The daily was founded in 1993.