Russian government blocks opposition websites

The Russian government has blocked access to a handful of websites critical of President Vladimir Putin as well as a blog written by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The websites include a blog by former world chess champion-turned-activist Garry Kasparov, and political news forums Grani and Daily Journal.

The general prosecutor’s office gave orders to block Navalny’s blog on social media network LiveJournal and independent radio station Ekho Moskvy’s website, where it is republished. The prosecutor’s office gave Ekho Moskvy 24 hours to block access to Navalny’s blog or risk having their own website shut down. In a statement on the the station’s website, Chief Editor Alexei Venediktov said that Navalny’s blog was blocked because of its connection “with identified signs of extremist activism”.

Navalny, who is currently under house arrest on charges of alleged embezzlement, defied the rules of his detention, which bans him from using the internet, to denounce Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. The lawyer and activist came to prominence by using his LiveJournal blog to expose corruption by government officials and last September ran for Moscow mayor.

According to a statement from the prosecutor’s officer, the websites were blocked for “inciting users to engage in illegal activity and participate in public events held in violation of the established order”.

The move is part of a wave of censorship and media restrictions imposed by the government in recent months. Multiple news channels and websites have fallen victim to the clamp down on free press in Russia, with Rain TV, news portal Lenta.ru and RIA Novosti among those targeted with major reshuffles or closure.

Source: RIA Novosti