BBC Resumes Reporting From Russia Despite Putin’s Crackdown and ‘Fake News’ Law

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The British Broadcasting Company announced on Tuesday it would continue reporting and broadcasting from Russia after suspending its operations there on Friday.

The BBC suspended reporting from Russia after Vladimir Putin’s regime passed a new law imposing a 15-year jail sentence for anyone spreading “fake news.”

BBC Director General Tim Davie said on Friday the new law “leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development.”

“We have considered the implications of the new legislation alongside the urgent need to report from inside Russia. After careful deliberation we have decided to resume English language reporting from Russia this evening (Tuesday 8 March),” the BBC said in a statement Friday.

“We will tell this crucial part of the story independently and impartially, adhering to the BBC’s strict editorial standards. The safety of our staff in Russia remains our number one priority,” the statement continued.

Russia’s continued crackdown on the press has resulted in the shuttering of its last major independent outlets and the fleeing of journalists from the country fearing for their safety.