Russia on Tuesday summoned representatives of media organisations listed as “foreign agents”, saying they would be sanctioned for violating restrictions, without specifying which ones.
Groups or individuals deemed foreign agents must register with the justice ministry, label publications with the tag and submit detailed paperwork or face fines.
State communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said in a statement that foreign media in Russia “acting as a foreign agent” were distributing “their materials without appropriate labelling”.
“At the same time, Russian media outlets working abroad comply with all existing local laws applicable to foreign agents, although they do not agree with some of its provisions,” Roskomnadzor said.
The watchdog did not say which outlets or how many had violated the restrictions, but said they and their representatives could face fines of 500,000 rubles ($6,750) and 50,000 rubles ($675) respectively.
Media outlets listed as foreign agents in Russia include US-financed Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe and Voice of America.
Russia first passed legislation allowing media organisations to be labelled in this way in 2017 after Kremlin-funded RT television was declared a foreign agent in the United States.
The term foreign agent was used negatively during the Soviet era for opponents accused of being paid by the West.
Legislation allowing authorities to brand organisations with the term was originally passed in 2012 to cover NGOs and has been widely used against rights and environmental groups.
Earlier this month Russia expanded the legislation to include individuals and increased the potential penalties for failing to comply with its provisions, with possible sentences of up to five years in prison.
Critics say the new legislation is intended to further clamp down on dissent ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.
On Monday Russia labelled the first individuals under the expanded bill: three local journalists, a St. Petersburg-based artist-activist and Lev Ponomarev, one of the country’s best known rights activists.
On Tuesday it also applied the foreign agent label to prominent women’s rights organisation Nasiliyu.net.
