BBC World News has been removed from broadcast in Russia, just two days after the introduction of new legislation that the BBC’s director-general described as ‘criminalising the process of independent journalism’.
The news channel was removed on Saturday. Access to the BBC’s websites had also been restricted for several days.
On Friday, new legislation passed by the Russian authorities made the intentional spread of “fake” or “false” news about the war in Ukraine a criminal offence.
“The safety of our staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs. I’d like to pay tribute to all of them, for their bravery, determination and professionalism,” said BBC Director-General Tim Davie.
“We remain committed to making accurate, independent information available to audiences around the world, including the millions of Russians who use our news services. Our journalists in Ukraine and around the world will continue to report on the invasion of Ukraine.”
Other broadcasters including Bloomberg, ABC, CNN, Germany’s ARD and Canada’s CBC have taken similar decisions.
We are not pulling out @BBCNews journalists from Moscow, as some articles are suggesting. We cannot use their reporting for the time being but they remain valued members of our teams and we hope to get them back on our output as soon as possible.
— Jonathan Munro (@jonathancmunro) March 4, 2022
On Twitter, Jonathan Munro, the BBC’s interim director of news was clear the journalists were not being removed from Russia. “We cannot use their reporting for the time being but they remain valued members of our teams and we hope to get them back on our output as soon as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, the BBC’s Ukraine-language TV is being relayed on Ukraine’s combined TV news channel known as ‘The Only News’.
