A State Duma working group has approved a new version of a bill which could see individuals be labeled “foreign agents” by the General Prosecutor’s Office or Foreign Ministry.
NGOs and media outlets which receive foreign funding and engage in activity considered political can already be slapped with the label under the so-called “foreign agents law.” They face more tax checks and are required to mark their publications.
The aim is to give “the executive branch the authority to respond to the curbing of the rights of our colleagues working abroad,” State Duma deputy Pyotr Tolstoi was cited as saying on the Duma’s site.
The Vedomosti daily reported on Tuesday the bill is set to pass its second reading next week.
