Russian Consumer Protection Service may block BBC Russia

10:45 05/08/2014

MOSCOW, August 5 (RAPSI) - The Federal Consumer Protection Service may block the BBC Russia website for posting a controversial interview by Artyom Loskutov in which the public activist urged mass riots and extremism, Izvestia reports this Tuesday.

Loskutov’s interview who called on readers to take part in an unauthorized rally for the federalization of Siberia was published on July 31. BBC Russia was warned by the agency to remove the interview, according to a notice Izvestia got hold of. However, according to a source in the newspaper, the editors ignored the letter.

“We might block BBC Russia’s website in this country. We not only might but we must because the Federal Consumer Protection Service has been instructed by the Prosecutor General’s Office to block access to websites publishing information of this nature,” the source close to the agency told the newspaper and added that on August 3, the agency sent BBC Russia a second notice that was also ignored.

The Consumer Protection Service began an inquiry into the non-fulfillment of legal requirements by the service.

Last March, the Federal Consumer Protection Service, as required by the Prosecutor General’s Office, included Grani.ru, Kasparov.ru, Yezhednevny Zhurnal and the blog by former Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny on the list of banned websites for “calls for illegal activity and participation in mass events held in violation of the established order.”