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Russia Warns US-funded RFE/RL It May Face 'Restrictions'

by RFE/RL

   The Russian Justice Ministry has warned U.S.-funded Radio Free
   Europe/Radio Liberty that it may impose restrictions on some of the
   broadcaster's operations in Russia in response to what Moscow claims is
   pressure on Russian state-funded outlets in the United States.

   The ministry said in a letter dated October 9 that the operations of
   Current Time television, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in
   cooperation with Voice of America, fall under Article 2 of Russian law
   on NGOs and foreign agents, and that Russia therefore retains the right
   to impose restrictions on Current Time.

   "The activity of your organization may be subjected to restrictions
   envisioned in the legislation of the Russian Federation," the
   statement, signed by ministry official Vladimir Titov, said.

   RFE/RL's Russian Service, known as Radio Svoboda, and Idel Realii, a
   Russian-language site run by the broadcaster's Tatar-Bashkir Service,
   received similar letters.

   "Current Time, Radio Svoboda, and Idel Realii are journalistic
   organizations. We trust we will be able to continue our work," RFE/RL
   Vice President and Editor in Chief Nenad Pejic said in a statement in
   response to the letter.

   U.S. law enforcement agencies have been looking into the operations of
   at least two Russian media outlets -- the satellite TV channel RT and
   the news website Sputnik.

   Funded by the Russian government, RT was accused in a U.S. intelligence
   report of being one of the primary channels through which the Kremlin
   sought to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

   Since then, calls have grown in Washington to force RT and Sputnik to
   register under a 79-year-old law initially aimed at restricting Nazi
   propaganda. During the Soviet era, some Russian-language media,
   including the newspaper Pravda and the wire agency TASS, registered as
   foreign agents.

   Last month, RT chief editor Margarita Simonyan said U.S. officials had
   ordered the channel to register under the foreign-agent law. The
   Justice Department has repeatedly declined to comment.