Russian move against Deutsche Welle is 'open attack' on press freedom

Russia's decision to classify German foreign broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) as a "foreign agent" came in for condemnation from Berlin on Tuesday.

The Kremlin had already effectively banned DW correspondents from reporting from Russia, but went a step further on Monday when the Justice Ministry added it to its official register of foreign agents.

"The Russian government is continuing full throttle with its open attack on freedom of the press and freedom of opinion in Russia, as proven again in recent weeks by the numerous moves to block websites of media providers in Russia that are critical of the government."

At the beginning of February, Russia ordered the closure of the DW bureau in Moscow and the withdrawal of journalists' accreditations. The DW website is blocked in Russia.

The closure of the DW office was Russia's reaction to a broadcasting ban by German media regulators against the German-language television channel of Russian state media outlet RT.