UPDATE - Russia designates US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty an ‘undesirable organization’

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM US STATE DEPARTMENT

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia on Tuesday designated the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) an “undesirable” organization.

RFE/RL became the 142nd organization to be added to the Russian Justice Ministry’s list of “undesirable organizations."

The organization suspended its operations in the country soon after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war on Feb. 24, 2022.

Reacting to the Russian move, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Russian ban on RFE/RL shows that Moscow does not “want their people to have information about what the Russian regime does abroad, what the Russian regime does to its own people.”

“We have seen Russia continue to crack down on free press, continue to crackdown on transparency,” he added.