Putin instructed to analyze the law on foreign agents by May 1

by time news

President Vladimir Putin gave a list of instructions following the meeting of the Human Rights Council (HRC). Mr. Putin ordered, in particular, before May 1 to analyze the practice of applying the law on foreign agents, including their exclusion from the register. The instruction was given to the Ministry of Justice jointly with the Prosecutor General’s Office and the HRC.

“If necessary, submit proposals for improving the legislation of the Russian Federation,” the order says. The head of the Ministry of Justice Konstantin Chuichenko, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov and the head of the Human Rights Council Valery Fadeev were appointed responsible for the execution.

Under the media law, the Ministry of Justice can recognize as a foreign agent any media outlet that receives funding or property from “foreign bodies” or citizens directly or through Russian legal entities. In November 2021, amendments to the law were sent to the State Duma by the Union of Journalists of Russia (UJR) and the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (CHR). They propose to recognize a foreign agent only after a warning and through the court. The HRC and the SZHR believe that for not indicating the status of a media agent as a foreign agent when quoting it, one should not fine it immediately, but after a warning and with the possibility of eliminating the defect. Vladimir Putin spoke in favor of discussing the law on media-foreign agents with the professional community. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that there should be no foreign agents among journalists.

Read more about the fight against foreign agents in Russia in the material “Kommersant” “Society of Memory”.

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