WASHINGTON, October 29. /TASS/. The US Department of State has released a statement signed by Washington and its close NATO allies, as well as Ukraine, Australia and New Zealand, criticizing the Russian authorities for the alleged harassment of "independent journalists and media outlets." The text of the document was published by the press service of the Department of State on Thursday.
"The undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition express their deep concern about the Russian government’s intensifying harassment of independent journalists and media outlets in Russia," according to the statement signed by the governments of Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States.
"We urge the Russian Federation to comply with its international human rights commitments and obligations and to respect and ensure media freedom and safety of journalists," the document said.
In particular, the statement mentioned the Russian law on foreign media agents in this respect, including in the context of activities on Russian territory of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty financed by the US, fines on the Moscow bureau of the radio station and the bureau being placed "at risk of bankruptcy."
Russia adopted the law on foreign media agents in 2017, shortly after the US Department of Justice requested RT America, a field office of Russia’s TV company, to register as a foreign agent in the US. According to the law, foreign media agents are obliged to provide data on their senior management, the expenditure of funds, audit as well as label their materials, indicating their foreign agent status.