Europe

The Russian Prosecutor’s Office labels the independent news portal SOTA as “undesirable”

A photograph of Moscow, the capital of Russia


A photograph of Moscow, the capital of Russia – Europa Press/Contact/Cao Yang

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May 16. () –

The Russian Prosecutor’s Office has classified the independent news portal SOTA, based in Lithuania, but which disseminates news in Russian, as “undesirable” this Thursday for publishing “false information” about the Armed Forces in the context of the war in Ukraine.

“The website periodically disseminates unreliable information and materials that discredit the actions of government bodies and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” reads a statement collected by the Interfax news agency.

The Prosecutor’s Office has reported that the news portal has already been blocked by the Federal Telecommunications Supervision Service of Russia (Roskomnadzor) for trying to “destabilize” and “create tension in Russian society.

A Moscow court fined one of the media’s founders, Alexandra Ageeva, 10,000 rubles ‘in absentia’ for violating the law on foreign agents, in which she was included in February 2022, according to the TASS news agency.

SOTA was founded in 2015 by Ageeva, who currently lives in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. The outlet, which has covered protests led by Russian opponents, was recognized as a foreign agent in June 2023 and now its activity has been banned in Russia.

After the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has fined or blocked access to numerous websites, media outlets and organizations for spreading, in its opinion, false information about the events surrounding the fighting.

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