New Russian laws are aimed at making defamation a criminal offence and giving the authorities the power to block websites. They are now awaiting President Vladimir Putin's signature
The defamation bill, as approved by the state duma, would allow judges to levy fines up to 5m rubles (£100,000). An initial proposal to jail offenders was dropped.
The New York-based press freedom watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), says the law "demonstrates just how much Russia is diverging from accepted international norms of human rights."
The internet bill will allow a new agency to create a blacklist of websites. Its existence contradicts previous claims by the prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, that Russia's uncensored internet is proof of the country's respect for a free press.
CPJ comments: "That Russia will so quickly abandon that standard shows how fragile its respect can be."
Source: CPJ
