MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s communication watchdog has blocked the website of the OVD-Info protest-monitoring group, which has for years documented anti-Kremlin protests, following a court ruling, Interfax news agency reported on Saturday.
The news agency said the ruling on restricting access to the ovdinfo.org cite was issued by a court in the Moscow region on Dec. 20. The website currently shows a message saying access to it is restricted on the basis of a federal law on information, information technologies and data protection.
Russia declared the OVD-Info group a “foreign agent” in September, in a move that critics say is designed to stifle dissent.
Moscow has recently labelled several outlets “foreign agents”, a legal designation used for what authorities say are foreign-funded organisations engaged in political activity.
OVD-Info did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
