Reporters Without Borders and Group 36 have been declared “undesirable organisations” in Russia.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has declared the French journalists’ rights organisation Reporters Without Borders and the US-based Group 36, which supports non-governmental organisations, as “undesirable.” This information appeared in the Justice Ministry’s register of “undesirable organisations.”

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans Frontières, RSF) is an international non-governmental organisation founded in France in 1985. Its mission is to protect journalists and media workers who face persecution and imprisonment for their work in various countries.

Reporters Without Borders also defends everyone’s right to access free and reliable information.

Group 36 is a US-based project specialising in advising non-governmental and philanthropic organisations. “Our mission is to enable NGOs, foundations, and charities worldwide to maximise their impact through tailored support in organisational consulting, grant management, and fiscal sponsorship, helping them achieve long-term positive change,” says the organisation’s website.

On 14 September Reporters Without Borders was designated an “undesirable organisation” for “spreading clichés about the violation of journalists’ rights,” reports Ostorozhno, Novosti (“Caution, News”). This was announced by Deputy Head of the Prosecutor General’s Office Department for Supervising the Enforcement of Laws on Federal Security, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Countering Extremism and Terrorism, Alexei Zhafyarov, at a Central Election Commission briefing.