DISINFO: PACE manifests double standards
SUMMARY
The report on the freedom of journalists is biased and has become a manifestation of PACE’s double standards. Outrageous violations of journalists’ rights in Estonia and Ukraine remained ignored by the report. During the PACE session, a press conference was organised by Executive Director of Russia Today and Sputnik Estonia’s Chief Editor. However, their speech was not reflected in the report, but an attempt to offend Russia was made.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Council of Europe, attempting to undermine the institution, as well as a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the West's deliberate anti-Russian activities, Russophobia and double standards. The Council of Europe is an international organisation whose stated aim is to uphold human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Europe. The Council of Europe is not "anti" any country, nor does the PACE offend anyone. PACE resolutions aim at resolving existing problems and cannot be considered as steps against the country concerned.
During the PACE winter session, the executive director of Russia Today and editor-in-chief of Sputnik Estonia claimed without evidence that there is no freedom of speech in Estonia, but rather total censorship. However, in resolution N2317, the Assembly noted that in fact the Russian Federation should "address the problem of violence against journalists, including murders, physical attacks and threats, arrests, imprisonment, on-line harassment", "prevent police violence against journalists, as has happened during July-August 2019 demonstrations in Moscow" and "review the terms of reference of the Russian federal media regulator, Roskomnadzor, to limit its excessive power in the monitoring and censorship of the media, including on-line media; the blocking of independent media outlets without any warning or explanation, as recently happened to the Fergana news website, is an action amounting to censorship that is incompatible with the freedom of the media".
See similar cases claiming that the West practices double standards when dealing with Russia, that PACE is a propagandistic assembly that deals with Russophobia at all levels, that the Council of Europe is a completely meaningless and absolutely anti-Russian organisation, and that the Council of Europe is Russophobic and rulings from the Strasbourg Court are anti-Russian.