Page 2 - Rfe Rl News Today

The Belarusian Interior Ministry has added two RFE/RL journalists to its list of extremists amid an ongoing crackdown on independent media, opposition politicians, rights activists, and democratic institutions.

RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, has asked a bank in Bishkek to explain its move to freeze RFE/RL's account without warning.

Kyrgyz authorities have frozen the bank account of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, soon after they blocked its website for two months when the broadcaster refused to take down a video of one of its news programs that reported on clashes at the border with Tajikistan. 

Kyrgyz lawmakers, media outlets, and rights activists have called for the government to repeal its decision to block the websites of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, saying it has cast a shadow over the country. 

Last year, Kyrgyzstan passed a “fake news” law. This year, it’s been used to suspend access to at least two media outlets.

Authorities in Belarus have not released the wife of jailed RFE/RL journalist Ihar Losik even though the deadline for her preliminary detainment has ended.

Russia on October 7 declared Oxxxymiron, one of the country's most popular rappers, to be a "foreign agent" as it updated its registry to add activists, writers, and journalists, including some who work for RFE/RL.

Russian investigators have confiscated the passport of a former columnist at RFE/RL's Idel.Realities online project that covers news and developments in Russia's Volga and Urals area, a move that has blocked her from traveling to Israel to receive cancer treatment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a bill expanding the definition of so-called foreign agents to include anyone who is "under foreign influence," a change that critics say will make it even easier for the state to target its domestic critics.

Tajik authorities have officially launched a probe into last month's attack against journalists from RFE/RL's Tajik Service and Current Time amid an outcry by human rights advocates and media groups.