Canada public broadcaster suspends reporting from Russia
Canada’s public broadcaster said Friday it has temporarily halted reporting from Russia after lawmakers moved to impose jail terms for publishing “fake news” about its army as part of efforts to stifle dissent over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) said in statement it is “very concerned” about new legislation “which appears to criminalize independent reporting on the current situation in Ukraine and Russia.”
“Out of concern for the risk to our journalists and staff in Russia, we have temporarily suspended our reporting from the ground in Russia while we get clarity on this legislation,” it said.
The halt in reporting affects both the CBC and its French-language counterpart Radio-Canada, and follows a similar move by the BBC.
Two Russian outlets, Nobel Prize-winning newspaper Novaya Gazeta and business news website The Bell, also said Friday they will stop reporting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to protect their journalists.
Russia’s media watchdog, meanwhile, said it had “limited” access to independent news website Meduza, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, and the Russian-language website of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
