The European Parliament condemned the closure of Novaya Gazeta in Russia.
"After more than thirty years of existence, one of the most authoritative sources of independent Russian journalism has been forced to remain silent. This is another victim of an authoritarian regime that does not tolerate opposition and dissent," said a joint statement by MEPs Ville Niiniste, Munir Saturi and Sandra Kalniete.
"We want to honor the work of Novaya Gazeta, which for three decades exposed and documented facts of corruption, abuse of power, war crimes and human rights violations - everything that the authorities preferred to hide: from the wars in Chechnya to the invasion of Ukraine," the document emphasizes.
Members of the European Parliament noted that since Vladimir Putin came to power, six journalists of the publication, including Anna Politkovskaya, were killed because of their professional activities, and the perpetrators remained unpunished.
Novaya Gazeta was one of the last remaining critical voices in Russia after the full invasion of Ukraine began. Suppressing those who document the truth is a sign of an authoritarian regime that fears that its own citizens will gain access to information," the statement said.
On November 9, journalists from Novaya Gazeta left the office on Potpovsky Street. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the closure of the publication "a normal rotational process."