The Russian Ministry of Justice has added Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) to its register of “undesirable” organizations, according to the Russian Ministry of Justice register, media reports, and a statement by RFE/RL.

This is an escalation from its previous designation as a so-called “foreign agent,” and the designation bans it from operating in Russia. Anyone working for the organization now faces up to six years in prison and administrative fines. It also makes it a crime to distribute the outlet’s content.

Since 2021, Russian authorities have labeled more than a dozen media organizations “undesirable.”

The Russian Ministry of Justice added RFE/RL to its register of so-called “foreign agents” in 2017, making it the first media organization to be labeled as such, along with Voice of America.

Authorities froze the bank accounts of the Russian branch of RFE/RL in May 2021 and a court declared it bankrupt in March 2023, following the broadcaster’s refusal to pay fines issued for noncompliance with the country’s foreign agent law.

RFE/RL President Stephen Capus said the designation is the latest example of how the Russian government views truthful reporting as an existential threat.

“Millions of Russians have relied on us for decades — including record-breaking audiences over the past few days since the death of Aleksei Navalny — and this attempt to stifle us will only make RFE/RL work harder to bring free and independent journalism to the Russian people,” Capus said in a statement.

“Russian authorities’ drive to persecute Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty runs deep, but so does the outlet’s commitment to delivering unbiased information to the Russian people,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Russian authorities should immediately repeal their legislation on ‘undesirable’ organizations and stop banning any reporting that contradicts the government’s narrative.”