Putin Clamps Down on Media, Activists and Minorities in Russia
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Independent media outlets have been blocked, labeled "foreign agents", or forced to move operations abroad. Journalists face arrests, imprisonment, and restrictive new laws.
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Human rights groups and NGOs have been outlawed as "undesirable" organizations and forced to close down. High profile activists have been jailed.
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Lawyers representing opposition figures and activists face prosecution and imprisonment, discouraging others from taking on politically sensitive cases.
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An LGBTQ+ "propaganda" law effectively bans public promotion of LGBTQ+ rights. A Supreme Court ruling labeled the LGBTQ+ movement as extremist.
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Hundreds of Jehovah's Witnesses have faced charges and imprisonment simply for gathering to pray, after their church was labeled extremist.