Yesterday I made public the address received from a state institution in the Russian Federation dealing with censorship. We were asked, in firm terms, to modify an article that contained the details of a colonel in the Russian army. Killed in the invasion of Ukraine.
We would like to thank our colleagues from Adevărul, Romania TV, Antena 3, B1TV, Știri pe surse, Capital, Infoactual, to all those who took the message published yesterday or sent us messages, for their support. After the discussions I had with people familiar with the Russians' methods, I substantiated my first impression: it is an attempt at intimidation and a warning. Addressed not only to Evenimentul Zilei. Anyone who writes against the invasion of Ukraine is targeted. We were just an example. Roskomnadzor addressed everyone.
A threat does not have to be explicit, to answer some who pretend not to understand. If there are some who find reading a book complicated, I recommend the article published today about how Stalin eliminated his opponents. So as not to confuse them with the assassinations ordered by Vladimir Putin. Who has an arrest warrant for war crimes.
Invoking the legislation of the Russian Federation in an official address sent to a newspaper in Romania or elsewhere is not a mistake, but a signal. And the phrase: "The Russian Federation places special emphasis on human and civil rights and liberties with regard to the processing of personal data, including the protection of the right to private and family life", coming from a Russian censorship institution, is a sinister joke .
It is not the first media lynching of the Event of the Day. You've seen several lately, seemingly unrelated, but time will tell who's behind them.
We have all read how Ukrainians are forced to take Russian citizenship. How tens of thousands of Ukrainian children were deported to Russia, where they were given to Russian families for re-education. The massacres in Ukraine, the terrorizing of the civilian population with drones, the destruction of the Danube ports with the aim of causing a food crisis, are added to the list of atrocities. These are not war operations, but violations of international conventions, which also regulate human and civil rights and freedoms, which Roskomnadzor makes so much of. Or Vladimir Putin.
Regarding the article, we decided not to change anything! It is as if Adolf Hitler's personal data were suppressed from all history books to respect his right to privacy.
Here you can find yesterday's article: Russian Federation warns Evenimentul Zilei!
P.S. I'm just reiterating the comment of a human rights specialist, Renate Weber: I mean, Evz, a newspaper from Romania that published something in Romania, is asked to respect Russian legislation? 🤦♀️ Who would have notified that Surveillance Service? That's what they say, that they received a request for assistance. But what if they're going to invoke GDPR?🙈Or do you think they've already ticked off that they've sent the threat message (we're watching you)?