Barents Observer takes Putin’s General Prosecutor to court

Less than six months after it was declared so-called ‘undesirable’ in Russia, the Barents Observer takes the country’s General Prosecutor to court.

A first round of hearings in the case took place in the Tverskoy Rayonny Court in Moscow on July 2. A second round is planned for July 10.

The small Norwegian newspaper that publishes in English and Russian argues that its inclusion in the list of ‘undesirables’ is unjustified and a violation of the freedom of the press as enshrined in the Russian Constitution.

"This is a case about freedom of the press in Russia," says lawyer Maksim Olenichev. "Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian authorities have tightened censorship and suppressed independent voices," he explains in a comment.

Olenichev represents the Barents Observer in the case. He is part of the First Department, a team of independent Russian lawyers.

"Russian authorities massively apply censorship regulations in order to prevent Russians from obtaining objective information about what is going on in the country," Olenichev says.

"The purpose of this case is not only to document the violation, but also to raise the question, first for the Russian courts and later also for international bodies; to what extent does the state have the right to interfere in the activities of the independent media, to ban their journalism in Russia under the pretext of ‘security’."

The Barents Observer was declared ‘undesirable’ by the General Prosecutor on February 7. A subsequent formal decree was issued by the Russian Justice Ministry on February 18.

The repressive action came immediately after the newspaper won a court case in the European Court of Human Rights against Russia's censorship agency Roskomnadzor.

According to the General prosecutor, the newspaper publishes "anti-Russian materials."

"The articles are aimed at stimulating protest actions among the population in north Russian regions, tightening anti-Russian sanctions [and] boosting NATO's military presence along our borders," the government body argued in its announcement. Furthermore, the Barents Observer is allegedly "discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" and propagating "untraditional values."

The Norwegian media company has over the past ten years repeatedly been attacked by Russian authorities.

The attacks have only made the newspaper stronger, Editor Thomas Nilsen explains.

“Since the FSB first time requested our shutdown in 2014, we have only become stronger. Since we were blocked on internet in 2019, we have only become better at outsmarting the censorship technologies. And today, after being declared ‘undesirable’, even more people have become aware that we are reporting important stories.” 

The blocking and status as ‘undesirable’ notwithstanding, the newspaper still has a big audience in Russia.

"The prosecutor-general may call us ‘undesirable’, but we’re certainly not undesirable if you ask our readers in Russia,” Nilsen underlines.

The newspaper that is based in Kirkenes, near Russia’s Kola Peninsula, will not give in to pressure.

“Our desire is to provide independent news reporting about the Russian north. No dark shadows from the Kremlin walls will ever manage to stop our journalism.”

Following the full-scale attack on Ukraine and the introduction of rigid censorship, hundreds of Russian journalists fled the country. Several of the independent Russian media that now operate in exile have been added to the list of ‘undesirables’, among them Meduza, Novaya Gazeta Europa, TV Dozhd and The Moscow Times.

The Barents Observer is among the few non-exile media that has been declared ‘undesirable’.

The status significantly restricts the news media’s operations in Russia. Anyone that speaks with an ‘undesirable’ media, shares information or reposts contents risks criminal persecution.