Russian media publishing Charlie Hebdo cartoons will be blacklisted, says watchdog

Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor has warned media organisations in Russia that they will be blacklisted if they publish Charlie Hebdo cartoons depicting religious figures. On its official Facebook page, Roskomnadzor wrote that it is engaging in “preventative work with a number of federal and regional Russian media”, warning them that “any publication in any media of caricatures of religious figures is unacceptable”.

The letter added that “the placing of internet hyperlinks to other media material (including foreign), copyright materials that justify the events, or caricatures of religious figures will be treated by Roskomadzor as a violation of the Federal Law ‘On Countering Extremist Activities.’”

A copy of the letter was published on Facebook by Vladimir Yefimov, the editor of a local media outlet in Kamchatka, who was one of the organisations to receive Roskomnadzor’s letter.