KN. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned journalists covering this year’s Summer Games in Paris from displaying national symbols of Russia and Belarus, TASS reported citing a spokesman for the organization.
Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to participate in the Olympics only under neutral status this year. The spokesman noted that under the IOC guidelines, this means they will be prohibited from displaying any national symbols, including the national flag, the state emblem, any military symbols, the colors of the St. George ribbon, or playing the national anthem.
“The same applies for media personnel, as well as for all spectators, as specified in the document,” the spokesman was cited as saying.
The IOC initially banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing internationally following the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. In December last year, however, the body removed the blanket ban and ruled that a limited number of individuals from the two countries could take part in the Olympics under a neutral flag. The Russian and Belarusian teams remained prohibited, and the body said that Russian state officials will not be invited to the games.
The IOC also placed a range of restrictions for qualifying. For instance, athletes who have publicly supported Moscow’s military operation or are somehow linked to the Russian military would not be allowed to take part in the Games.
In March, the IOC announced that the maximum number of Russians who can qualify for the Paris Olympics is 55, while Belarus is limited to 28 athletes. It also said that athletes from either country will not be allowed to take part in the traditional parade at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. It is expected to be an open-air event with athletes travelling on boats down the River Seine for several kilometers toward the Eiffel Tower.
Moscow has criticized the restrictions placed on its athletes by the IOC. In March, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the IOC’s measures targeting Russian athletes are “absolutely contrary” to the ideology of the Olympic movement and are “destroying Olympic ideals.”
The European Council has banned four more media outlets from reporting to audiences in the EU over allegations that they spread Russian propaganda.
Prior to announcement, Brussels had already barred several Russia-associated media from engaging with audiences in member states since the Ukraine conflict escalated into open hostilities in February 2022. Even platforming content from the targeted organizations is illegal in the bloc.
The new additions to the blacklist announced on Friday include the relatively small Czech-based portal Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, a leading Russian news agency, and the veteran newspapers Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
The latter is the official paper of the Russian government, which prints new laws, presidential decrees, and other executive documents to formally announce them to the general public, before they can enter force.
The council has claimed that the crackdown on Russian news is necessary to counter a “systematic, international campaign of media and information manipulation, interference and grave distortion of facts” about the Ukraine conflict.
The European Commission, the executive body of the bloc, has hailed the news, declaring that Russia poses an increasing threat to the EU’s “democratic societies” ahead of elections to the European Parliament next month.
“The sanctions do not target freedom of opinion,” it claimed, citing the fact that the gag order does not prevent journalists working for the four outlets from carrying out other activities in the EU.
Moscow has accused Brussels of duplicity and attacking freedom of speech with its restrictions. The campaign to undermine the work of Russian news organizations long predates the Ukraine conflict and is aimed at preventing European citizens from hearing opinions that their governments deem undesirable, Russian officials have claimed.