Russian Supreme Court orders closure of ‘Novaya Gazeta’ newspaper’s website
Daniel Stewart - Yesterday


The Russian Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the closure of the website of the 'Novaya Gazeta' portal, a symbol of critical voices in Russia and whose director, Dimitri Muratov, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021.


Russian Supreme Court orders closure of ‘Novaya Gazeta’ newspaper’s website© Provided by News 360

The sentence comes to endorse the complaints of the body that controls the media, for not labeling two organizations that operate, in Moscow's eyes, as "foreign agents", according to the newspaper itself, which has already announced that it will file an appeal.

Thursday's hearing was attended by Muratov, who in recent months has already seen the pressure increase on 'Novaya Gazeta' on several fronts. The courts had already ordered the suspension of the newspaper's print edition in a previous ruling.

The Russian edition of 'Novaya Gazeta' had already suspended publication in March following two warnings from media regulator Roskomnadzor, while the European edition, created after the shutdown in Russia, has its access blocked following a request from the Prosecutor's Office.

The newspaper already maintained a limited coverage of the war in Ukraine, after publicly recognizing that it had to avoid certain contents in order not to risk closure following the tightening of censorship promoted by the Kremlin.