The government of Vladimir Putin announced this Thursday (3) the ban on the works of the German public communication network Deutsche Welle in Russia. Journalists’ credentials have been withdrawn, and the Moscow-based branch will be closed. The Kremlin also intends to classify the company as a “foreign agent”.
The move comes in retaliation after Berlin blocked Russian state broadcaster RT’s channel over broadcast licensing issues. Russia’s Foreign Ministry described the move as “hostile” and said it would also prevent German officials who participated in the decision from entering the country.
In response, the German chancellery said that the Russian measure is unfounded and weakens relations between the countries. “If these measures are actually implemented, it would limit independent reporting in Russia, which is important in politically tense times,” a ministry spokesman said.
Claudia Roth, Germany’s Culture and Media Minister, called the action against DW unacceptable and urged Moscow not to “abuse RT’s licensing issues as a political reaction”.
The tension involving the public broadcasting vehicle comes amid the escalation of the crisis around Ukraine, where Russian troops are stationed. Germany has taken a secondary role in diplomatic negotiations, as it is tied to Russia due to the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline, which connects the two countries. The Kremlin said, also on Thursday, that a trip by German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz to Moscow was planned, but without a confirmed date.
Deutsche Welle said it had formally spoken out against closing the branch. The company’s director general, Peter Limbourg, said that the measures adopted by the Russians are absurd and similar to what the professional media face in autocracies.
“Until we are officially notified of the measures, we will continue to report from our Moscow branch. Even if we eventually have to close it, it will not affect our coverage of Russia — on the contrary, in this case we would significantly strengthen it.”
DW has been officially licensed to broadcast two TV channels in Russia since 2005, one in English and the other in German, according to the broadcaster. Current licenses would expire in 2025 for the English channel and 2027 for the German channel. The latter still broadcasts two to four hours of programming daily in Russian, as required by the conditions for granting the license.
Hendrik Wuest, governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, the German state where DW is based, characterized the Russian action as an attack on press freedom and said he strongly condemned it. The German Association of Journalists (DJV) urged Putin to immediately lift the ban on DW. “There is no justification for this drastic measure of censorship,” he said in a statement.
The announcement to block DW’s activities is the first such measure against a major Western media outlet since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, according to the AFP news agency.
For three decades, Moscow has not attacked foreign newspapers, even though Putin, in power for 20 years, has progressively taken control of the country’s communications sector. Last year, however, a BBC journalist and a Dutch reporter were expelled from Russia.
The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a Russian journalist, Dmitri Muratov, alongside Filipina Maria Ressa. Muratov is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Novaia Gazeta, one of the main newspapers opposed to Putin’s government. The Norwegian Nobel committee described the vehicle as the most independent in Russia today, and honoring the journalist was a way of waving in defense of press freedom in the country.
Source: Folha
