MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

BBC to resume broadcasting from Russia despite muzzle law

Most global news outlets have stopped their on-site reporting out of fear of reprisals

While most western news outlets have decided to no report from inside Russia, the BBC Tuesday announced it would resume broadcasting in English after thoroughly reviewing the country's new legislation against fake news, which provides for harsh prison sentences for the publication of information deemed false.

”After careful deliberation we have decided to resume English-language reporting from Russia this evening (Tuesday 8 March), after it was temporarily suspended at the end of last week,“ BBC director-general Tim Davie said in a statement.

”We will tell this crucial part of the story independently and impartially, adhering to the BBC's strict editorial standards,“ he went on.

”The safety of our staff in Russia remains our number one priority,“ he added.

Many foreign media have suspended reporting from inside Russia, including the New York Times, Canada's CBC/Radio-Canada, Italy's ANSA, Germany's ARD and ZDF, and Bloomberg News, plus US channels CNN and CBS.

Russian authorities had blocked online access to foreign news websites like The BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Deutsche Welle for reporting information that displeased the Kremlin.

According to the new legislation, anyone spreading what the government decides is “fake” news about the country’s military faces a jail term of up to 15 years. A sliding scale of punishment is also included in the new legislation, including fines, for anyone found to have discredited the Russian military or spoken out in favor of sanctions against the country.

”Literally by tomorrow, this law will force punishment — and very tough punishment — on those who lied and made statements which discredited our armed forces,“ Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin was quoted as saying.

Following the passing of the new law, foreign news organizations started announcing in a chain reaction that coverages from within Russia were to be suspended, in what has been described as ”a digital iron curtain” descending around the country.

International companies like Samsung, Google, Apple, and FedEx as well as most major international credit cards have all said they would stop doing business in Russia.