30 October 2026
I am deeply concerned — and
saddened — by the announcement today by the highly
respected and fiercely independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper
that it is being forced to close, in yet another devastating
blow for remaining independent media in the Russian
Federation.
Independent journalism in the country has
faced mounting restrictions and pressure for many years, but
these have intensified significantly since Russia’s
full-scale invasion of Ukraine, through increasingly
restrictive legislation, tighter State controls and the
harassment and persecution of journalists.
Throughout
its history, Novaya Gazeta and its journalists have made an
exceptional contribution to independent reporting and the
defence of human rights, often at great personal risk. Its
journalists have faced harassment, lawsuits, threats and
direct violence. Among them was Anna Politkovskaya, murdered
in 2006 following her reporting on human rights violations
in the course of Russia’s military operations in
Chechnya.
We have repeatedly expressed our concern
about the broad clampdown on free media, including the
so-called ‘foreign agent’ law and its deeply chilling
effects on the free exercise of civil and political rights.
This legislation has often been invoked to limit or deny the
exercise of the rights to free expression, peaceful assembly
and association, among others, protected under international
human rights law.
I call on the Russian authorities to
stop applying measures which stifle reporting on serious
issues of legitimate public concern, and to allow full and
free debate with a diversity of voices, including in the
media and across the public square, in line with
international
standards.
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