Dozens of Russians in 2021 went to jail for statements on the Internet | News from Germany about Russia | DW

Over the past year, 401 people were brought to criminal responsibility in Russia because of statements on the Internet, of which 44 were sentenced to real prison terms for posts and comments on social networks. This is stated in the annual report of the “Network Freedoms” project of the human rights organization “Agora”, published on Friday, February 11.

As the authors of the document note, the number of harassment (searches, interrogations, detentions) reached its peak in 2017. But if five years ago, most criminal cases were related to the article on inciting hatred, then in 2021, articles on justifying terrorism and inciting extremism began to be used more often,

Also, in 2021, the number of cases of bringing to administrative responsibility increased by one and a half times – up to 1806 against 1222 in 2020. More than half of them are cases of media and journalists recognized as “foreign agents”, they concern the lack of marking on individual messages, posts and comments on social networks.

In total, more than 451,000 cases of interference with Internet freedom were recorded in Russia in 2021 – one and a half times more than a year earlier, follows from the Agora report. The vast majority of incidents – 427,000 cases – are related to the prohibition of information, the blocking of individual sites and IP addresses.

See also:

• Country rankings from Reporters Without Borders: freedom of speech has no place here

  Vietnam, 175th: Arrested for criticizing the regime

  There are no independent media in Vietnam. The sole ruling Communist Party dictates to journalists how and what to write about. Publishers, editors and journalists for the most part are members of the Communist Party themselves. Recently, bloggers have been increasingly in the center of attention of the authorities. Those who challenge the communist monopoly on the right to express their opinions are being silenced by arrests.

• 

  Country rankings from Reporters Without Borders: freedom of speech has no place here

  China, 176th place: territory of captivity

  According to Reporters Without Borders, China can be called the largest open-air prison for bloggers and journalists. The PRC authorities are exerting massive pressure on dissidents, including employees of foreign media. Entire regions of China remain closed to them, their work is censored, and interlocutors and interview partners often end up behind bars.

• 

  Country rankings from Reporters Without Borders: freedom of speech has no place here

  Syria, 177th place: under bullets

  Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, numerous members of the media have been persecuted and killed. For several years now, Reporters Without Borders has listed the Bashar al-Assad regime as an enemy of press freedom. However, both the radical Al-Nusra Front, which opposes Assad, and the militants of the so-called “Islamic State” kill, kidnap and blackmail journalists.

• 

  Country rankings from Reporters Without Borders: freedom of speech has no place here

  Turkmenistan, 178th place: imaginary independence

  Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov owns all the media in the country. The only exception is the newspaper “Rysgal”, but its publishers must coordinate each issue. After the law “on the media” was adopted in the country in 2013, declaring freedom of the media and the inadmissibility of censorship, the population gained access to foreign media. However, the Internet is also controlled by the government.

• 

  Country rankings from Reporters Without Borders: freedom of speech has no place here

  North Korea, 179th place: the dictator dictates the rules

  There is no freedom of the press in North Korea either. The leadership of the DPRK, led by Kim Jong-un (pictured), controls everything that local newspapers and magazines write. Television and radio receivers of the population are tuned exclusively to state broadcasters. Anyone who dares to express an opinion different from the opinion of the party ends up in the so-called “labor re-education camps” – along with all family members.

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  Country rankings from Reporters Without Borders: freedom of speech has no place here

  Eritrea, 180th: North Korea in African style

  Reporters Without Borders ranked Eritrea last in its press freedom rankings. According to human rights activists, this country has the worst regime for the media. Due to persecution and harassment, many journalists are forced to leave their homeland. The population of Eritrea can learn about the real situation in the country only through Radio Erena, which is broadcasting from Paris.

  Author: Sabrina Pabst, Grigory Arosev