(C) Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty [1]:

Kremlin Escalates Fight With U.S.-Funded Journalists, Officials Say

Date: 2021-05-20 00:00:00 [2]

WASHINGTON — When Jamie Fly, the chief executive of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, visited Moscow in January 2020 to promote his news outlet’s popularity in Russia, he said he received an ominous message from the Kremlin’s top spokesman.

“We know how successful you’ve been,” Mr. Fly recalled the spokesman, Dmitry S. Peskov, saying to him in a private conversation. “We’re watching very closely.” (Mr. Peskov confirmed that the conversation took place, but said that “much else was discussed” and that “nothing ominous was said.”)

In the months since, Radio Free Europe, which is funded by the U.S. government, has entered a standoff with the Russian government. The battle revolves around a Russian law requiring that the organization label itself a “foreign agent.” Doing so, Radio Free Europe officials said, would drive away its audience and hinder its ability to report the news — and could effectively shut down its Russian operation.

As of Friday, they added, Russian officials have initiated legal action against the outlet and frozen its bank accounts until it pays roughly $67,000 of $2.4 million in estimated total fines for not complying with the law. Officials for the organization said they did not plan to pay, adding that if the pressure campaign continued, its reporters could face jail time or criminal prosecution.
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[2] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/us/politics/russia-rfe-free-press.html
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