The Russian Ministry of Justice added Muratov to the ever-expanding list of foreign agents on Friday. This epithet is often used by the Russian authorities for persons who express opinions critical of the system.
Muratov is officially accused by the authorities of creating and distributing materials that portray Russia’s foreign and domestic policies in a negative light.
Last September, the Russian court stripped one of the country’s last independent newspapers, Novaya Gazeta, of which Muratov was the editor-in-chief until now, of its press license. The Reuters report reveals that at Muratov’s request, he was suspended from his position for the duration of the legal procedure.
It is worth recalling that the Muratovs appealed against the banning of Novaya Gazeta earlier. The paper was founded in 1993, the money for its foundation was given by Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who died last year, from the sum of his Nobel Peace Prize.
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