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How the EU is using anti-Russia sanctions to criminalise journalism

The EU sanctioned me and my media outlet for covering Palestine protests in Germany. It’s part of Europe’s growing authoritarianism and militarism, cloaked in language of fighting disinformation and defending democracy.
 
by Hüseyin Dogru
 
Part 6 - The real target isn’t Russia. It’s us.
 
The EU says its sanctions are designed to “bring about a change in the policy or conduct of those targeted, with a view to promoting the objectives of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.” In plain language, the sanctions are there to coerce their adversaries and critics into agreeing with them.

The EU also claims its sanctions “are not punitive”. This is a lie – just like U.S. sanctions on Cuba, Iran or those which killed half a million children in Iraq, these measures don’t punish governments – they punish ordinary people.

This is not about stopping war crimes. It is about silencing those who expose them. I oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But I also oppose the EU’s militarism, its complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and its attacks on the democratic ideals it claims to defend. For that, I have been sanctioned.
 
The EU has created a model of repression that is rapidly expanding. Today it targets Palestine solidarity journalism. Tomorrow it could be reporters covering mass strikes, climate uprisings, or anti-austerity protests.

Unless we resist it now, we risk waking up in a Europe where dissent is not just marginalized, but subject to the kind of repression we have until now only associated with the most ruthless dictatorships.
 
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