EU sanctions red. media in latest attack on anti-genocide voices
European nations have escalated their crackdown on criticism of Israel, raiding journalists' homes and arresting several under 'terrorism' accusations
The EU Council on 20 May sanctioned red. media founder Huseyin Dogru and Istanbul-based AFA Medya, which operates the news outlet, under the allegation that Dogru and red. “support” Russia and “disseminate the narratives" of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
“The accusations used to sanction me and red. media read like an act of revenge by the German state for exposing its own complicity. This revenge has one after the other been delivered through German media outlets, journalists, trade unions, and NGOs, and now ultimately formalized through EU sanctions,” Dogru says in a statement published by red.
“RED has used its media platforms … to systematically spread false information on politically controversial subjects with the intent of creating ethnic, political and religious discord amongst its predominantly German target audience, including by disseminating the narratives of radical Islamic terrorist groups such as Hamas,” the EU Council alleges.
Officials in Brussels also accused red. and Dogru of “coordinating” with pro-Palestine protesters during a takeover of a German university last year to “disseminate images of their vandalism – which included the use of Hamas symbols – through their online channels, thus providing them with an exclusive media platform, facilitating the violent nature of the protest.”
“Not only is this the first time the EU has used sanctions in defense of Ukraine to target critical media coverage of repression against the right to assembly within the bloc, it may also be the first time the EU has sanctioned an individual and media outlet that has consistently criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the Germany-based news outlet said in response to the sanctions.
They also called the punitive measures a “grave escalation in the conflation of independent journalism with foreign interference” and stressed that “red. is being punished not for spreading falsehoods, but for reporting inconvenient truths, should concern everyone.”
Last week, red. announced its imminent closure, citing “mounting repression and direct threats to our team’s safety.”
The sanctions against Dogru and AFA Medya are the latest in a growing trend of silencing anti-genocide voices by European countries. Earlier this year, Electronic Intifada founder Ali Abunimah was arrested by police in Switzerland after he arrived in Zurich for a speaking tour.
Syrian-British journalist Richard Medhurst faces terrorism charges in the UK and Austria for his pro-Palestine activism.
In October, UK counterterrorism police raided the home and seized several electronic devices of EI associate editor Asa Winstanley for social media posts allegedly “encouraging terrorism.”
UK counterterrorism police also raided the home of Palestine solidarity activist Sarah Wilkinson and detained pro-Palestinian journalists Vanessa Beeley and Kit Klarenberg upon arrival at Heathrow airport.